Cancer statistics for Hispanic/Latino people, 2026.
4 affiliations
- 1Surveillance, Prevention, and Health Services Research, American Cancer Society, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- 2Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.
- 3Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- 4Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Abstract
The Hispanic/Latino population is the second largest racial and ethnic group in the United States, accounting for 20% of the total population (68 million), plus approximately 3 million Hispanic Americans residing in Puerto Rico. Herein, the American Cancer Society reports cancer occurrence, risk factors, and screening for US Hispanic people using federally funded, high-quality, population-based cancer registry data and national vital statistics and survey data. In 2026, an estimated 229,900 Hispanic people will be diagnosed with cancer, and 54,200 will die from the disease in the continental United States and Hawaii. Cancer incidence during 1998-2022 rose in Hispanic women (from 345 to 385 per 100,000) and fell in Hispanic men (from 471 to 389 per 100,000), narrowing the male-to-female incidence rate ratio from a peak of 1.40 (95% CI, 1.38-1.42) in 2002 to 1.01 (95% CI, 1.00-1.02; p = .02) in 2022. This pattern is partly driven by declining incidence of lung and prostate cancers among men and increasing incidence of breast and uterine corpus cancers among women. Although temporal trends mirror the general population, the Hispanic cancer distribution is distinct, consistent with relatively lower prevalence of smoking, alcohol drinking, and screening and higher prevalence of obesity and cancer-causing infections. Compared with White people, Hispanic people have one half the incidence of lung and urinary bladder cancers and 24% lower breast cancer but double the rate of liver, stomach, and gallbladder cancers, 61%-65% higher acute lymphocytic leukemia, and 36% higher cervical cancer. The cancer burden in Puerto Rico is distinct, with lower rates of lung cancer but higher rates of cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers compared with other US Hispanic populations. Residents in Puerto Rico also experience lasting health care system challenges from extreme weather events. Thus, prevention efforts should target the unique cancer profile of the Hispanic population, including infection prevention and control, healthy eating, physical activity, and routine screening, especially for cervical and colorectal cancer that are 11 percentage points lower than White people.
Related
- Index-window C-reactive protein and carcinoembryonic antigen and five-year all-cause mortality in Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White patients with colorectal cancer: a retrospective biomarker cohort study.
- Associations between health-related social needs and colorectal cancer screening among United States Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic white adults
- Allele-Specific MicroRNA-Binding Variants at Colorectal Cancer Risk Loci in a Hispanic/Latino Population: An Integrative GWAS, All of Us, and Epigenomic Analysis
- Discovery and Validation of Gut Microbiome Features Associated with Dietary Patterns in U.S. Black/African and Hispanic/Latino Populations
- Anorexia Nervosa in U.S. Hispanic/Latino Populations: Sociocultural and Structural Influences on Recognition and Care
BibTeX
@article{saka2026cancer,
title = {{Cancer statistics for Hispanic/Latino people, 2026.}},
author = {Anatu H Saka and Tyler B Kratzer and Angela N Giaquinto and Natalia Mazzitelli and Paulo S Pinheiro and Ana P Ortiz and Dinorah Martinez Tyson and Ahmedin Jemal and Rebecca L Siegel},
journal = {CA: a cancer journal for clinicians},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3322/caac.70107},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42831778},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cancer statistics for Hispanic/Latino people, 2026.
AU - Anatu H Saka
AU - Tyler B Kratzer
AU - Angela N Giaquinto
AU - Natalia Mazzitelli
AU - Paulo S Pinheiro
AU - Ana P Ortiz
AU - Dinorah Martinez Tyson
AU - Ahmedin Jemal
AU - Rebecca L Siegel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - CA: a cancer journal for clinicians
DO - 10.3322/caac.70107
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42831778
AB - The Hispanic/Latino population is the second largest racial and ethnic group in the United States, accounting for 20% of the total population (68 million), plus approximately 3 million Hispanic Americans residing in Puerto Rico. Herein, the American Cancer Society reports cancer occurrence, risk factors, and screening for US Hispanic people using federally funded, high-quality, population-based cancer registry data and national vital statistics and survey data. In 2026, an estimated 229,900 Hispanic people will be diagnosed with cancer, and 54,200 will die from the disease in the continental United States and Hawaii. Cancer incidence during 1998-2022 rose in Hispanic women (from 345 to 385 per 100,000) and fell in Hispanic men (from 471 to 389 per 100,000), narrowing the male-to-female incidence rate ratio from a peak of 1.40 (95% CI, 1.38-1.42) in 2002 to 1.01 (95% CI, 1.00-1.02; p = .02) in 2022. This pattern is partly driven by declining incidence of lung and prostate cancers among men and increasing incidence of breast and uterine corpus cancers among women. Although temporal trends mirror the general population, the Hispanic cancer distribution is distinct, consistent with relatively lower prevalence of smoking, alcohol drinking, and screening and higher prevalence of obesity and cancer-causing infections. Compared with White people, Hispanic people have one half the incidence of lung and urinary bladder cancers and 24% lower breast cancer but double the rate of liver, stomach, and gallbladder cancers, 61%-65% higher acute lymphocytic leukemia, and 36% higher cervical cancer. The cancer burden in Puerto Rico is distinct, with lower rates of lung cancer but higher rates of cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers compared with other US Hispanic populations. Residents in Puerto Rico also experience lasting health care system challenges from extreme weather events. Thus, prevention efforts should target the unique cancer profile of the Hispanic population, including infection prevention and control, healthy eating, physical activity, and routine screening, especially for cervical and colorectal cancer that are 11 percentage points lower than White people.
SN - 0007-9235
SN - 1542-4863
ER -