Cancer statistics for Hispanic/Latino people, 2026

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.

Short abstract

This report provides a comprehensive overview of cancer occurrence, screening, and risk factors among the Hispanic population in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The findings highlight disparities among this population and opportunities for cancer prevention, early detection, and control.

INTRODUCTION

The Hispanic/Latino (hereinafter Hispanic) population is the second‐largest racial and ethnic group in the United States, with approximately 68.1 million people in 2024, as well as 3 million in Puerto Rico. ¹ , ² Hispanic individuals make up 20% of the overall population but account for more than one third of residents in some Southern and Western states, including California, Texas, and New Mexico (Figure 1). The term Hispanic or Latino/Latina refers to persons who self‐identify as being of Mexican (57%), Puerto Rican (9%), Cuban (4%), Salvadoran (4%), Dominican (4%), or other Central or South American or other Spanish descent. ³ Despite heterogeneity in cancer risk factor prevalence associated with place of origin, ⁴ population‐based cancer surveillance data in the United States are mostly limited to all Hispanic people combined, masking substantial variation in the cancer burden. Nevertheless, these data are still valuable to guide public health efforts because Hispanic people as a whole experience disproportionate poverty and other obstacles to high‐quality health care and thus are vulnerable to cancer inequities. ⁵ , ⁶ For example, Hispanic people aged 18–64 years in the United States were three times as likely as White people to be uninsured during 2024 (Table 1). Furthermore, the Hispanic cancer burden is expected to grow because US‐born Hispanic individuals have higher cancer incidence than their Latin American‐born (hereinafter foreign‐born) counterparts for many cancer sites, ⁴ and births have been the main source of population growth since the early 2000s. ³ Hispanic cancer disparities may be further exacerbated by effects of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) pandemic because Hispanic people were more likely to experience delays in return to cancer screening and diagnosis. ⁷

FIGURE 1.

Hispanic population distribution as a percent of total county population, United States, 2024. Excludes Puerto Rico.

TABLE 1.

Socioeconomic and health care access characteristics (%) in Hispanic and White people, United States, 2020–2024.

	Hispanic, %							White, %
Socioeconomic characteristics, 2020–2024	All	Mexican	Puerto Rican	Cuban	Central American	South American	Dominican
Foreign‐born	33	29	2	55	56	61	50	4
Speak English not well or not at all (aged >5 years) a	23	21	13	34	34	24	30	10
Less than high school diploma (adults aged >25 years)	27	32	17	17	39	12	25	6
Income below federal poverty level	17	16	19	15	19	12	20	9

Health care access characteristics, 2024	Hispanic, %	Mexican, % b	Other Hispanic, %	White, %
No insurance coverage
Age, years
<18	8	8	8	4
18–64	25	28	22	8
Immigration status (aged ≥18 years)
Born in US/US territory	10	11	8	7
In US <10 years	38	65	32	— d
In US ≥10 years	32	35	27	5
No usual source of medical care (aged 18–64 years) c
Overall	20	20	19	12
Males	25	26	24	15
Females	14	14	15	8

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. For insurance coverage, all estimates (except for those aged <18 years) were age‐adjusted to the 2000 US population standard using four age groups (18–24, 25–34, 35–44, and 45–64 years). Estimates of health care coverage by immigration status were age‐adjusted to the 2000 US population standard using five age groups (18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–64, and ≥65 years).

^a Among respondents older than 5 years who indicated that a language other than English was spoken at home. Respondents were asked to rank English‐speaking ability as not at all, not well, well, or very well.

^b Mexican origin includes Mexican and Mexican American individuals.

^c Excluding care from a hospital emergency room.

^d Estimate is statistically unstable and not shown.

This report provides contemporary cancer incidence, stage distribution, survival, and mortality statistics for Hispanic people living in the United States, including the projected numbers of new cases and deaths in 2026, as well as the prevalence of selected cancer risk factors and screening uptake. Information for Puerto Rico, where 99% of the population identifies as Hispanic, ⁸ is presented separately.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data sources

Incidence

Cancer incidence data in the United States are collected and disseminated by cancer registries supported by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Program of Cancer Registries. These consolidated data are compiled and reported by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) for incidence based on data quality (e.g., low percentage of death certificate‐only cases), completeness, and timeliness. NAACCR data presented herein were adjusted for delays in case reporting using site‐specific composite delay factors and approach 99% coverage for the Hispanic population in the continental United States and Hawaii. These data were the source for trends in incidence rates (1998–2022), contemporary cross‐sectional average annual incidence rates (2018–2022), stage at diagnosis (2018–2022), and the 2026 new cancer case projections. ⁹

Mortality

Mortality data by Hispanic origin for the United States have been available since 1990 from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. ¹⁰ However, long‐term mortality trends presented herein (1990–2024) exclude states during years when high‐quality information on Hispanic origin was not available, including Louisiana (1990), New Hampshire (1990–1992), and Oklahoma (1990–1996). All other mortality statistics for the United States combined are for 2020–2024 and 2019–2023 and are based on data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

All cancer cases were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition. ¹¹ Causes of death were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death, ninth and tenth revisions. ¹² , ¹³ Incidence and mortality rates were calculated using SEER*Stat software (version 9.0.43.0), ¹⁴ age‐adjusted to the 2000 US standard population, and expressed per 100,000 persons. Population data before 2010 were derived from modified intercensal annual estimates by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, provided by the US Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics in collaboration with the NCI (seer.cancer.gov/popdata/modifications.html [accessed March 27, 2026]). Data from 2010–2019 were provided by Woods & Pool Economics Inc. (seer.cancer.gov/popdata/W%26P_ICen_Tech_Documentation.pdf [accessed March 27, 2026]), and population data for 2020–2024 were based on vintage 2024 estimates (seer.cancer.gov/popdata/ [accessed March 27, 2026]). Population estimates incorporate race‐bridging (i.e., combining multiple race categories from the 2000 and 2010 census into individual race categories) and differ from those used in the calculation of rates provided in CDC Wonder (wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/help/ucd‐expanded.html#Population%202022 [accessed March 27, 2026]), resulting in differences for some years.

Other statistics

Twenty SEER registries (Alaska, Connecticut, greater California, greater Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Utah, rural Georgia, and the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco–Oakland, San Jose–Monterey, Seattle–Puget Sound, and Texas), covering approximately 42% of the US population and 61% of the US Hispanic population, were the source for contemporary 5‐year relative survival rates (2016–2022). ¹⁵ The calculation of relative survival for Hispanic individuals is based on detailed life tables for this population. ¹⁶ These 20 SEER registries plus Illinois (46% of the US population and 65% of the Hispanic US population) were the source for the probability of developing cancer, which was calculated using the NCI’s DevCan software (version April 2026). ¹⁷

Puerto Rico incidence and mortality

The Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry has collected information on cancer cases in the territory since 1950 and joined the National Program of Cancer Registries in 1997. ¹⁸ , ¹⁹ Five‐year average annual incidence rates for Puerto Rico (2015–2019) were adjusted using site‐specific composite delay factors for the US Hispanic population provided by NAACCR. ⁹ Puerto Rico mortality rates (2019–2023) for selected cancers herein were previously published in the NCI’s State Cancer Profiles. ²⁰ Puerto Rico cancer incidence and mortality rates are presented for all races and ethnicities combined because the population is 99.0% Hispanic. ⁸

Cancer risk factors, screening, and demographic statistics

Data on cigarette smoking, electronic‐cigarette use, alcohol consumption, and receipt of cancer screening for Hispanic and White adults in the continental United States and Hawaii in 2021, 2023, and 2024 were derived from the National Health Interview Survey. ²¹ , ²² , ²³ Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage among adolescents in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico was obtained from the National Immunization Survey for Teens. ²⁴ National Health Interview Survey data were analyzed using SUDAAN (version 11.0.4; RTI International) to obtain weighted prevalence estimates, which are considered representative of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. The prevalence of obesity (defined as body mass index ≥30.0 kg/m²) for Hispanic and White adults in the continental United States and Hawaii during August 2021 through August 2023 was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. ²⁵ Hysterectomy prevalence by age and race–ethnicity was used to correct uterine cervix and uterine corpus cancer incidence (2018–2022) and mortality (2020–2024) for the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (incidence only from 2015–2019) and was obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS was designed to provide state prevalence estimates for health behaviors and is conducted by individual state health departments in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data are collected from computer‐assisted telephone interviews with adults aged 18 years and older. Cancer screening and risk factor data for Puerto Rico were also obtained from the BRFSS. ²⁶ Socioeconomic characteristics for the Hispanic population were based on the 2020–2024 American Community Survey and accessed using the US Census Bureau’s Microdata Access tool (data.census.gov/mdat/#/ [accessed March 12, 2026]).

Statistical analysis

Incidence and mortality

The annual percent change (APC) and the 10‐year average APC (AAPC) in incidence (2013–2022) and mortality (2015–2024) rates are based on Joinpoint regression analysis (Joinpoint Regression Program, version 6.0.1; National Cancer Institute). ²⁷ Trends in incidence exclude 2020 data because of pandemic‐associated disruptions in cancer diagnosis. ²⁸ , ²⁹ Trends were described as increasing or decreasing when the APC or AAPC was statistically significant (two‐sided p value < .05) using the parametric method and otherwise were described as stable. Five‐year relative survival rates were age‐adjusted in SEER*Stat using the three International Cancer Survival Standards defined in detail by Corazziari et al. ³⁰ Prostate cancer survival was age‐adjusted using a specific standard provided by SEER (seer.cancer.gov/stdpopulations/survival.html#source [accessed July 7, 2026]). Contemporary uterine cervix and uterine corpus incidence (2015–2019 and 2018–2022) and mortality (2020–2024) rates were adjusted for age‐specific hysterectomy prevalence by state and by racial and ethnic group nationwide, using the SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute Inc.) and R (version 4.4.1; R Foundation for Statistical Computing) software packages. Survey‐weighted hysterectomy prevalence stratified by age (20–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and 80 years or older) and race and ethnicity (Hispanic, non‐Hispanic White) was used to reduce the population at risk to the number of women with an intact uterus. When hysterectomy prevalence estimates were unstable (e.g., young age groups), strata were combined.

Projected cancer cases and deaths in 2026

The most recent year for which cancer incidence and mortality data are available lags 2–4 years behind the current year because of the time required for data collection, compilation, quality control, and dissemination. Therefore, we projected the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths among Hispanic individuals in the continental United States and Hawaii in 2026 to provide an estimate of the contemporary cancer burden using two‐step statistical modeling as described in detail elsewhere. ³¹ , ³² High‐quality incidence data were used to estimate the total number of cases diagnosed each year from 2008 through 2022 in all 50 states using a spatiotemporal model that accounts for state variation in sociodemographic, lifestyle, medical setting, and cancer screening behaviors. Counts were adjusted for the deficit in cases during March through May 2020 due to pandemic‐associated health care closures using race‐specific, sex‐specific, and site‐specific proportions during those months in 2018 and 2019. Estimated case counts were adjusted for delays in case reporting using age‐specific composite delay factors derived from the NAACCR 2025 data submission. Then, case counts were projected to 2026 based on the AAPC during 2019–2022 generated by Joinpoint regression modeling. The number of cancer deaths was estimated using the 4‐year AAPC from 2021 through 2024 based on the actual numbers of cancer deaths from 2010 through 2024.

SELECTED FINDINGS

Overall cancer occurrence

The sections below present information for Hispanic people in the continental United States and Hawaii; data for Puerto Rico are presented in a separate section.

Incidence

In 2026, an estimated 229,900 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed among Hispanic individuals living in the continental United States and Hawaii (Figure 2). The most commonly diagnosed cancers among Hispanic men are prostate cancer (28%), colorectal cancer (CRC; 11%), and kidney and renal pelvis cancer (7%); whereas the most common cancers among Hispanic women are breast cancer (31%), CRC (8%), and uterine corpus cancer (8%). This distribution differs from that of the general population because of variations in risk factor prevalence (e.g., less smoking) and a younger age structure; in 2024, the median age for Hispanic individuals was 30 years compared with 41 years for non‐Hispanic individuals. ¹ For example, lung cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer among Hispanic women (Figure 2) but ranks second in the general population. ³³

FIGURE 2.

Leading cancer types of estimated new cancer cases and deaths among Hispanic/Latino people by sex, United States, 2026. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. Estimates are rounded to the nearest 100 and cases exclude basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers and in situ carcinoma except urinary bladder. Rank is based on modeled projections and may differ from the most recent observed data.

One in three (36%) Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, compared with one in two (41%) White men and women. ¹⁷ Although Hispanic people have approximately 20%–25% lower overall cancer incidence compared with White people, their rates are approximately 36% higher for cervical cancer, 61%–65% higher for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and two‐fold higher for liver, stomach, and gallbladder cancers (Table 2). These disparities are partly driven by higher prevalence of underlying risk factors and exposures in immigrant countries of origin, ³⁴ , ³⁵ which is reflected in higher incidence rates for several infection‐related cancers among foreign‐born individuals, ³⁶ , ³⁷ who account for 33% of the US Hispanic population (Table 1). However, incidence varies by nativity, Hispanic origin group, and generational status. ³⁶ , ³⁸ , ³⁹ For example, one study of Hispanic individuals in New York, Florida, California, and Illinois found that overall cancer incidence among those whose origin was Puerto Rican was nearly twice that of those who came from Mexican and Central American backgrounds. ³⁸

TABLE 2.

Comparison of cancer incidence (2018–2022) and mortality (2020–2024) rates between Hispanic and White People, United States.

Cancer	Incidence, 2018–2022						Mortality, 2020–2024
	Male			Female			Male			Female
	Hispanic rate	White rate	Rate ratio a	Hispanic rate	White rate	Rate ratio a	Hispanic rate	White rate	Rate ratio a	Hispanic rate	White rate	Rate ratio a
Acute lymphocytic leukemia	3.1	1.9	1.61	2.4	1.5	1.65	0.7	0.4	1.71	0.5	0.3	1.93
Breast (female)				106.6	139.5	0.76				13.4	19.1	0.70
Colon and rectum b	38.4	40.2	0.95	27.9	30.7	0.91	13.0	15.1	0.86	8.5	10.9	0.78
Gallbladder	1.3	0.6	1.95	2.4	1.1	2.29	0.5	0.3	1.66	0.9	0.5	1.80
Kidney and renal pelvis	24.1	24.7	0.98	13.9	12.3	1.13	4.7	5.3	0.89	2.0	2.2	0.93
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct	20.1	11.3	1.78	8.9	4.4	2.01	11.9	8.5	1.41	6.2	3.9	1.57
Lung and bronchus	33.0	62.6	0.53	24.9	54.3	0.46	17.7	37.9	0.47	10.8	29.5	0.36
Melanoma	5.2	38.9	0.13	5.1	26.5	0.19	0.8	3.8	0.20	0.5	1.7	0.29
Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma	20.7	24.1	0.86	16.0	16.5	0.97	5.2	6.6	0.78	3.4	3.8	0.90
Oral cavity and pharynx	10.9	21.1	0.52	4.9	7.5	0.66	2.4	4.5	0.53	0.8	1.6	0.51
Pancreas	13.3	16.0	0.83	11.9	12.1	0.98	9.5	13.4	0.71	8.3	10.0	0.83
Prostate	95.5	118.4	0.81				15.0	18.1	0.83
Stomach	11.4	7.2	1.58	8.2	3.7	2.22	5.3	2.7	1.95	3.6	1.4	2.59
Uterine cervix				12.2	9.0	1.36				3.1	2.9	1.08
Uterine corpus				37.8	42.2	0.90				6.9	8.2	0.84
Urinary bladder	19.0	37.7	0.50	5.3	9.3	0.56	3.6	7.9	0.46	1.2	2.2	0.54
All sites	383.5	518.0	0.74	368.3	458.4	0.80	121.9	175.2	0.70	92.3	129.8	0.71

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Rates are per 100,000 and age adjusted to the 2000 US standard population. Incidence is adjusted for delays in reporting.

^aRate ratios are the unrounded rates in Hispanic individuals divided by the unrounded rates in Whites. All rate ratios presented were statistically significant (p < .05).

^bColorectal cancer incidence rates exclude cancers of the appendix.

In contrast to the unique cancer distribution, cancer trends in Hispanic people generally mirror those in the general population. ³³ Overall cancer incidence during 1998–2022 declined in Hispanic men (from 471 to 389 per 100,000) and increased in Hispanic women (from 345 to 385 per 100,000; Figure 3). Consequently, the male–female incidence rate ratio narrowed from a peak of 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38–1.42) in 2002 to 1.01 (95% CI, 1.00–1.02; p = .02) in 2022 (Figure 3). ⁹ This pattern is largely driven by declines for lung and prostate cancers in men and increases in breast and uterine corpus cancers in women, especially over the past decade (1.8% and 2.6% per year, respectively, during 2013–2022; Table 3). A similar shift occurred in Hispanic people younger than 50 years; the female–male incidence rate ratio widened from 1.75 (95% CI, 1.70–1.81) in 2003 to 2.09 (95% CI, 2.05–2.14) in 2022, despite increasing trends in both sexes (Figure 4).

FIGURE 3.

Trends in cancer incidence (1998–2022) and mortality (1990–2024) rates among Hispanic and White people by sex, United States. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Rates are age adjusted to the 2000 US standard population, and incidence rates are adjusted for delays in case reporting. Incidence data for 2020 are shown separate from trend lines. Mortality data in Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma were excluded from overall death rates for years in which information on Hispanic origin were not available.

TABLE 3.

Trends in incidence rates for selected cancers in Hispanic and White people overall and by sex, United States, 1998–2022.

	Trend 1		Trend 2		Trend 3		Trend 4		Trend 5		AAPC
	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	2013–2022
All sites
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2008	−0.3 a	2008–2012	−1.7 a	2012–2022	0.6 a					0.6 a
White	1998–2001	1.2 a	2001–2004	−1.1	2004–2007	0.9	2007–2012	−1.0 a	2012–2022	0.3 a	0.3 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2008	−0.5 a	2008–2012	−3.3 a	2012–2022	−0.2					−0.2
White	1998–2001	1.5	2001–2004	−1.5	2004–2007	0.7	2007–2013	−1.9 a	2013–2022	0.1	0.1
Female
Hispanic	1998–2012	−0.1	2012–2022	1.3 a							1.3 a
White	1998–2011	0.2 a	2011–2022	0.5 a							0.5 a
Female breast
Hispanic	1998–2004	−1.5 a	2004–2014	0.4	2014–2022	2.0 a					1.8 a
White	1998–2001	−0.4	2001–2004	−3.4 a	2004–2016	0.6 a	2016–2022	1.2 a			1.0 a
Colon and rectum b
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2005	−1.1 a	2005–2012	−2.9 a	2012–2019	−0.7 a	2019–2022	0.6			−0.3
White	1998–2001	−1.4 a	2001–2008	−3.0 a	2008–2011	−4.1 a	2011–2018	−1.1 a	2018–2022	−0.4	−0.8 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2006	−1.1 a	2006–2012	−3.3 a	2012–2022	−0.8 a					−0.8 a
White	1998–2001	−1.4 a	2001–2012	−3.6 a	2012–2022	−0.9 a					−0.9 a
Female
Hispanic	1998–2006	−1.5 a	2006–2012	−3.2 a	2012–2022	−0.0					−0.0
White	1998–2001	−1.4 a	2001–2008	−2.7 a	2008–2011	−4.0 a	2011–2018	−1.1 a	2018–2022	−0.4	−0.8 a
Gallbladder
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2022	−1.3 a									−1.3 a
White	1998–2022	−0.8 a									−0.8 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2022	−0.9 a									−0.9 a
White	1998–2022	−0.7 a									−0.7 a
Female
Hispanic	1998–2002	−4.9	2002–2022	−1.1 a							−1.1 a
White	1998–2022	−0.8 a									−0.8 a
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2010	2.9 a	2010–2019	1.3 a	2019–2022	−1.6					0.3
White	1998–2002	2.1 a	2002–2015	4.3 a	2015–2022	0.6 a					1.4 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2010	3.1 a	2010–2019	0.6 a	2019–2022	−2.9					−0.5
White	1998–2015	4.0 a	2015–2022	0.0							0.9 a
Female
Hispanic	1998–2022	2.2 a									2.2 a
White	1998–2004	0.5	2004–2015	4.5 a	2015–2022	2.3 a					2.8 a
Lung and bronchus
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2022	−1.6 a									−1.6 a
White	1998–2006	−0.2	2006–2019	−1.4 a	2019–2022	−3.2 a					−2.0 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2022	−2.6 a									−2.6 a
White	1998–2006	−1.1 a	2006–2019	−2.2 a	2019–2022	−4.1 a					−2.8 a
Female
Hispanic	1998–2022	−0.4 a									−0.4 a
White	1998–2007	0.8 a	2007–2011	−1.3 a	2011–2019	−0.4 a	2019–2022	−2.6 a			−1.1 a
Prostate
Hispanic	1998–2002	1.0	2002–2005	−4.2	2005–2008	0.9	2008–2014	−7.1 a	2014–2022	1.6 a	0.6 a
White	1998–2001	3.3	2001–2004	−5.8	2004–2007	3.2	2007–2014	−6.6 a	2014–2022	3.4 a	2.2 a
Stomach
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2011	−1.9 a	2011–2019	−0.7 a	2019–2022	1.8					0.1
White	1998–2008	−1.9 a	2008–2011	1.5	2011–2019	−0.9 a	2019–2022	2.5			0.2
Male
Hispanic	1998–2019	−2.0 a	2019–2022	0.9							−1.1
White	1998–2008	−2.3 a	2008–2011	1.7	2011–2019	−1.4 a	2019–2022	0.6			−0.8
Female
Hispanic	1998–2011	−1.8 a	2011–2018	0.4	2018–2022	2.6 a					1.4 a
White	1998–2008	−1.6 a	2008–2019	0.1	2019–2022	5.4 a					1.8 a
Stomach‐cardia
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2022	−0.7 a									−0.7 a
White	1998–2008	−0.2	2008–2011	4.2	2011–2015	−0.2	2015–2022	−1.7 a			−1.4 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2022	−1.2 a									−1.2 a
White	1998–2008	−0.7 a	2008–2011	5.2	2011–2022	−1.6 a					−1.6 a
Female
Hispanic	1998–2014	−1.2 a	2014–2022	2.0							1.6
White	1998–2015	1.0 a	2015–2022	−0.8							−0.4
Stomach‐noncardia
Male and female
Hispanic	1998–2006	−2.3 a	2006–2018	−1.1 a	2018–2022	1.4					0.0
White	1998–2006	−3.0 a	2006–2019	−0.7 a	2019–2022	5.7 a					1.4 a
Male
Hispanic	1998–2006	−2.9 a	2006–2022	−1.4 a							−1.4 a
White	1998–2006	−3.6 a	2006–2019	−1.4 a	2019–2022	4.0 a					0.4
Female
Hispanic	1998–2018	−0.8 a	2018–2022	3.9 a							1.2
White	1998–2008	−2.1 a	2008–2019	0.3	2019–2022	7.0 a					2.5 a
Uterine cervix c
Hispanic	1998–2012	−3.7 a	2012–2022	0.5							0.5
White	1998–2003	−3.6 a	2003–2013	−0.5 a	2013–2016	2.1	2016–2022	−1.1 a			−0.1
Uterine corpus c
Hispanic	1998–2007	0.8	2007–2022	2.6 a							2.6 a
White	1998–2004	−0.7 a	2004–2017	1.2 a	2017–2022	−0.3					0.3

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Trends were analyzed using the Joinpoint Regression Program, version 6.0.1, allowing up to four joinpoints.

Abbreviations: AAPC, average annual percent change; APC, annual percent change (based on incidence rates age adjusted to the 2000 US standard population and adjusted for delays in reporting).

^a The APC or AAPC is significantly different from zero (p < .05).

^b Excludes appendix.

^c Not adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence.

FIGURE 4.

Trends in incidence rates for all cancers combined among Hispanic people by age and sex, United States, 1998–2022. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. Rates are age adjusted to the 2000 US standard population and adjusted for delays in case reporting. Data for 2020 are shown separate from trend lines.

Stage at diagnosis and survival

Hispanic people are less likely than White people to be diagnosed with localized stage disease for several cancers, with the largest gap for melanoma of the skin (65% vs. 78%, during 2018–2022), followed by breast (60% vs. 69%), prostate (64% vs. 71%), and stomach (29% vs. 36%) cancers (Figure 5). A higher likelihood of advanced‐stage diagnosis among Hispanic people is often a result of delayed care because of barriers in health care access, including the lack of insurance coverage. ⁴⁰ , ⁴¹ Hispanic people have the second highest uninsured rates in the United States after American Indian and Alaska Native people. ⁴² Other factors that contribute to later diagnosis include perceived discrimination in health care settings, ⁶ family caregiving obligations, language barriers, and inability to take time off work. ⁶ , ⁴³ Fear of interacting with medical systems because of legal documentation status may contribute ⁴⁴ and could be exacerbated in the future by new policies allowing immigration enforcement actions in protected areas, such as hospitals and community health clinics. ⁴⁵

FIGURE 5.

Stage distribution for selected cancers among Hispanic and White people, United States, 2018–2022. Excludes residents diagnosed in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Stage categories may not sum to 100% because of rounding. ^aExcludes appendix.

Five‐year relative survival among Hispanic people is lower than that of White people overall (64% vs. 71%; Figure 6) but varies by cancer type. The largest survival disparity among Hispanic and White people is for melanoma of the skin (83% vs. 95%, respectively), with a wider sex gap in men (77% vs. 94%) than in women (87% vs. 96%). ¹⁵ Factors contributing to this disparity include delayed presentation of disease, higher prevalence of more aggressive subtypes, and a longer time to surgical treatment. ⁴⁶ , ⁴⁷ , ⁴⁸ It is important to note that cancer survival estimates for Hispanic people are known to be inaccurate because of misclassification of ethnicity and a higher loss to follow‐up after diagnosis, in part because people often return home to their family in their country of birth. ⁴⁹

FIGURE 6.

Five‐year relative survival for selected cancers among Hispanic and White people, United States, 2016–2022. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. All cases were followed through 2023. Survival rates are age‐standardized to the three International Cancer Survival Standards. ^aExcludes appendix. ^bNot age‐standardized ^cAge‐adjusted using specific standard supplied by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

Mortality

In 2026, an estimated 54,200 Hispanic men and women will die from cancer in the continental United States and Hawaii (Figure 2). The most common causes of cancer death are lung cancer (13%), CRC (12%), and liver and prostate cancer (10%) among men and breast cancer (15%), lung cancer (10%), and CRC and pancreatic cancer (9%) among women. Lung cancer accounts for 11% of total cancer deaths in Hispanic people compared with 20% in the general population. ³³ According to vital statistics data for 2024, cancer is once again the leading cause of death among Hispanic people but ranks second among White people after heart diseases (Table 4). COVID‐19 replaced cancer as the leading cause of death among the US Hispanic population in 2020 and 2021 ⁵⁰ , ⁵¹ but dropped to 13th in 2023 and 17th in 2024. ⁵² , ⁵³

TABLE 4.

Leading causes of death in Hispanic and White people, United States, 2024.

	Hispanic				White
	Rank	No. of deaths	Percent of total deaths	Death rate	Rank	No. of deaths	Percent of total deaths	Death rate
Both sexes combined
All malignant cancers	1	51,120	20	103.2	2	466,773	20	145.6
Heart diseases	2	47,679	18	105.0	1	520,559	23	163.1
Accidents (unintentional injuries)	3	26,105	10	41.8	3	132,227	6	55.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	4	14,629	6	33.4	5	120,457	5	37.5
Diabetes	5	12,070	5	24.8	7	59,490	3	19.1
Alzheimer disease	6	9296	4	24.3	6	93,490	4	28.8
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis	7	8724	3	15.3	8	37,036	2	13.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	8	5709	2	13.3	4	124,575	5	37.5
Intentional self‐harm (suicide)	9	5382	2	8.0	9	36,560	2	17.1
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	10	5255	2	11.4	10	36,364	2	11.4
All causes		260,799	100	536.1		2,290,348	100	745.5

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Rates are per 100,000 persons, exclude people with unknown age, and are age‐adjusted to the 2000 US standard population (5‐year age groups: from <1 year, 1–4 years, etc., through ≥90 years). Death rates presented herein use the vintage 2024 population estimates release on July 1, 2024. Those population estimates differ from prior estimates; therefore, some data differ from those published elsewhere (for more information, see https://seer.cancer.gov/popdata/ [accessed March 26, 2026]).

Although Hispanic people have approximately 30% lower overall cancer mortality compared with White people, their rates are approximately two‐fold higher for gallbladder and stomach cancers (Table 2), mirroring incidence patterns. In addition, the mortality advantage differs by nativity and age. The overall cancer death rate is 15% higher in Hispanic males born in the United States compared with those who are foreign‐born ⁵⁴ and is 31% higher in Hispanic men aged 15–29 years than in their White counterparts. ¹⁰ Higher mortality in this age group partly reflects three‐fold higher death rates for testicular cancer (0.6 [95% CI, 0.6–0.7] vs. 0.2 [95% CI, 0.2–0.3] per 100,000, respectively), among the most common cancers in this age group, despite just 33% higher incidence rates. Factors that may contribute to the excess mortality for testicular cancer include later diagnosis, larger tumor size, and lower survival relative to White males. ⁵⁵ , ⁵⁶

Cancer mortality peaked in the mid‐1990s for Hispanic men, slightly later than White men, but has declined by 35% as of 2024 (Figure 3). Cancer mortality in Hispanic women has declined by 17% since 2001, nearly a decade later than the downturn began in White women (Table 5). Over the past decade (2015–2024), the decline in cancer death rates was faster in Hispanic men (by 1.8% per year) than in Hispanic women (0.6% per year; Table 5).

TABLE 5.

Trends in mortality rates for selected cancers in Hispanic and White people overall and by sex, United States, 1990–2024.

	Trend 1		Trend 2		Trend 3		Trend 4		Trend 5		Trend 6		AAPC
	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	Years	APC	2015–2024
All sites
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–1998	0.1	1998–2024	–1.1 a									–1.1 a
White	1990–1994	–0.2	1994–2002	–0.9 a	2002–2024	–1.3 a							–1.3 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–1996	0.6	1996–2016	–1.4 a	2016–2024	–1.9 a							–1.8 a
White	1990–1993	–0.2	1993–2001	–1.3 a	2001–2024	−1.6 a							–1.6 a
Female
Hispanic	1990–2001	–0.1	2001–2008	–1.2 a	2008–2024	–0.6 a							–0.6 a
White	1990–1994	0.1	1994–2002	–0.7 a	2002–2024	–1.2 a							–1.2 a
Female breast
Hispanic	1990–2008	–1.6 a	2008–2024	–0.7 a									–0.7 a
White	1990–1995	–1.6 a	1995–1998	–3.5 a	1998–2011	–1.9 a	2011–2024	–1.0 a					–1.0 a
Colon and rectum
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–2001	0.1	2001–2016	−1.7 a	2016–2024	−0.9 a							−1.0 a
White	1990–2002	−1.8 a	2002–2005	−3.9 a	2005–2011	−2.5 a	2011–2020	−1.6 a	2020–2024	−0.2			−1.0 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–1999	0.5	1999–2024	−1.5 a									−1.5 a
White	1990–2002	−2.1 a	2002–2005	−4.1 a	2005–2012	−2.6 a	2012–2020	−1.6 a	2020–2024	−0.3			−1.0 a
Female
Hispanic	1990–2006	−0.3	2006–2010	−4.0 a	2010–2024	−0.9 a							−0.9 a
White	1990–2000	−1.7 a	2000–2010	−2.9 a	2010–2020	−1.5 a	2020–2024	−0.4					−1.0 a
Gallbladder
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–2024	−2.5 a											−2.5 a
White	1990–2008	−2.4 a	2008–2014	−0.6	2014–2024	−2.7 a							−2.7 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–2024	−2.1 a											−2.1 a
White	1990–2009	−2.0 a	2009–2012	2.2	2012–2024	−3.0 a							−3.0 a
Female
Hispanic	1990–2024	−2.6 a											−2.6 a
White	1990–2002	−2.6 a	2002–2024	−1.8 a									−1.8 a
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–1998	3.9 a	1998–2016	1.5 a	2016–2024	−1.4 a							−1.1 a
White	1990–1996	4.0 a	1996–1999	−0.0	1999–2008	2.3 a	2008–2012	3.6 a	2012–2015	2.0 a	2015–2024	0.4 a	0.4 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–1995	6.1 a	1995–2016	1.5 a	2016–2024	−2.3 a							−1.9 a
White	1990–1995	3.8 a	1995–2006	1.9 a	2006–2013	3.4 a	2013–2024	0.1					0.1
Female
Hispanic	1990–1998	3.2 a	1998–2015	1.4 a	2015–2024	0.2							0.2
White	1990–1996	3.5 a	1996–2000	−0.8	2000–2008	1.6 a	2008–2015	3.0 a	2015–2024	1.2 a			1.2 a
Lung and bronchus
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–2002	−0.6 a	2002–2015	−2.2 a	2015–2018	−5.1 a	2018–2024	−3.1 a					−3.8 a
White	1990–1994	0.4	1994–2005	−0.6 a	2005–2014	−2.1 a	2014–2019	−4.3 a	2019–2024	−3.6 a			−3.9 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–2000	−1.0 a	2000–2013	−2.9 a	2013–2024	−4.5 a							−4.5 a
White	1990–1994	−1.1 a	1994–2005	−1.6 a	2005–2013	−2.7 a	2013–2024	−4.5 a					−4.5 a
Female
Hispanic	1990–2003	0.4	2003–2014	−1.1 a	2014–2024	−2.7 a							−2.7 a
White	1990–1994	2.4 a	1994–2002	0.7 a	2002–2007	−0.4	2007–2014	−1.6 a	2014–2020	−3.6 a	2020–2024	−2.7 a	−3.2 a
Prostate (male)
Hispanic	1990–1994	3.4	1994–2013	−2.6 a	2013–2024	−1.2 a							−1.2 a
White	1990–1994	0.3	1994–1998	−4.6 a	1998–2012	−3.4 a	2012–2020	−0.2	2020–2024	−1.2 a			−0.6 a
Stomach b
Male and female
Hispanic	1990–2024	−2.1 a											−2.1 a
White	1990–2009	−3.5 a	2009–2024	−2.3 a									−2.3 a
Male
Hispanic	1990–1998	−1.3	1998–2024	−2.6 a									−2.6 a
White	1990–2009	−3.8 a	2009–2022	−2.6 a	2022–2024	1.1							−1.8 a
Female
Hispanic	1990–2024	−1.7 a											−1.7 a
White	1990–2009	−3.2 a	2009–2024	−2.4 a									−2.4 a
Uterine cervix c
Hispanic	1990–2010	−2.5 a	2010–2024	−1.4 a									−1.4 a
White	1990–1996	−1.5 a	1996–2004	−3.3 a	2004–2024	−0.1							−0.1
Uterine corpus c
Hispanic	1990–2006	0.1	2006–2023	2.3 a									2.3 a
White	1990–2008	−0.0	2008–2016	2.1 a	2016–2023	0.9 a							1.1 a

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Trends were analyzed using the Joinpoint Regression Program, version 6.0.1, allowing up to four joinpoints.

Abbreviations: AAPC, average annual percent change; APC, annual percent change (based on incidence rates age adjusted to the 2000 US standard population and adjusted for delays in reporting).

^a The APC or AAPC is significantly different from zero (p < .05).

^b Trends by subsite not available for mortality data.

^c Not adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence.

Selected cancer sites

Female breast

Invasive breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women in the United States, with an estimated 38,000 new cases and 3900 deaths expected in 2026 (Figure 2). Incidence and mortality rates are approximately 24% and 30% lower, respectively, in Hispanic women than in White women (Table 2), partly because of differences in reproductive patterns (i.e., younger age at first birth, higher parity, longer breastfeeding, etc.) that influence breast cancer risk. ⁵⁷ Lower mammography prevalence among Hispanic women aged 45 years and older compared with White women (64% vs. 69% up‐to‐date in 2023; Table 6) also contributes to lower incidence through fewer diagnoses of asymptomatic cancer.

TABLE 6.

Cancer screening and human papillomavirus vaccination prevalence (%), United States, 2021, 2023, and 2024.

	Hispanic, %		White, %
	Overall	Uninsured, aged ≤64 years	Overall	Uninsured, aged ≤64 years
Cervical cancer screening: Females aged 25–65 years, 2021 a
Up to date b	71	62	82	63
Pap test and HPV test in the past 5 years	37	31	39	34
Pap test within the past 3 years	66	57	75	49
HPV test within past 5 years	39	31	41	36
Breast cancer screening: Females aged ≥45 years, 2023
Up to date c	64	40	69	28
Colorectal cancer screening: Adults aged ≥45 years, 2023
Up to date d	56	20	67	23
Males	53	15	68	21
Females	59	26	67	25
Aged 45–54 years	36	15	50	13
Colonoscopy within the past 10 years	46	13	59	18
Aged 45–54 years	24	— g	40	— g
Stool test e	19	6	15	6
Aged 45–54 years	14	— g	13	— g
HPV vaccination: Youth aged 13–17 years, 2024
Overall
One or more dose(s)	82	76	76	38
Up to date f	63	35	63	31
Females
One or more dose(s)	82	78	76	— g
Up to date f	65	— g	64	— g
Males
One or more dose(s)	82	74	76	— g
Up to date f	61	— g	63	— g

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Adult estimates are age‐adjusted, excluding estimates stratified by age, to the 2000 US standard population and do not distinguish between examinations for screening and diagnosis. Cervical cancer screening estimates are age‐adjusted using age groups (25–29, 30–39, 40–49, and 50–65 years). Breast and colorectal cancer screening estimates are age‐adjusted using three age groups (45–49, 50–64, and ≥65 years). Uninsured estimates for HPV vaccination (aged 13–17 years) are from 2023 National Immunization Survey‐Teen data.

Abbreviations: HPV, human papillomavirus; Pap, Papanicolaou.

^aAmong females with an intact uterus.

^bPap test in the past 3 years or Pap test and HPV test or HPV test alone within the past 5 years among females aged 25–65 years.

^cMammogram within the past year (aged 45–54 years) or the past 2 years (ages ≥55 years).

^dFecal occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, computed tomography colonography, or multitarget stool DNA test in the past 1, 5, 10, 5, and 3 years, respectively.

^eFecal occult blood test/fecal immunochemical test within the past 1 year or multitarget stool DNA test within the past 3 years.

^fUp to date HPV vaccination in those aged 13–17 years is defined as two doses separated by 5 months (minus 4 days) for immunocompetent adolescents initiating the HPV vaccine series before their 15th birthday and three doses for all others.

^g

Estimates are statistically unstable and not shown.

Breast cancer incidence among Hispanic women has increased at a faster pace than among White women during 2013–2022 (1.8% vs. 1.0% annually; Table 3). Similar to White women, ⁵⁸ incidence rates among Hispanic women aged 20–49 years are increasing at a steeper pace (2.4% per year) than in women aged 50–64 years (1.4% per year) and 65 years and older (1.6% per year; Figure 7) during this time period. ⁹ Steeper increases among young women are partly due to increasing obesity and changing reproductive patterns, such as declining fertility rates and a rising age at first birth. ⁵⁹ , ⁶⁰ In contrast, breast cancer mortality in Hispanic women has declined since 1990 by 32% through 2024 (Figure 8). Over the past decade (2015–2024), death rates among Hispanic and White women have decreased similarly (0.7% vs. 1.0% annually, respectively; Table 5). Declines in breast cancer death rates are largely because of advances in treatment and earlier detection through screening. ⁵⁸

FIGURE 7.

Trends in incidence rates for selected cancers among Hispanic people by age and sex, United States, 1998–2022. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. Rates are age‐adjusted to the 2000 US standard population and adjusted for delays in reporting. Data for 2020 are shown separate from trend lines. Vertical scales differ by age and sex. ^aExcludes appendix. ^bIncludes intrahepatic bile duct. ^cNot adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence.

FIGURE 8.

Trends in cancer mortality rates among Hispanic people for selected cancers by sex, United States, 1990–2024. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. Rates are age‐adjusted to the 2000 US standard population. Mortality data in Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma were excluded from overall death rates for years in which information on Hispanic origin were not available. ^aIncludes intrahepatic bile duct. ^bNot adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence.

Hispanic women are less likely than White women to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a localized stage (60% vs. 69%; Figure 5), in part because of lower mammography prevalence (Table 6) and delayed follow‐up after an abnormal mammogram. ⁶¹ However, a nationwide analysis indicated that differences in stage at diagnosis were eliminated after controlling for socioeconomic status for all Hispanic women except those from Mexico, who remained 22% more likely to present at a later stage compared with White women. ⁶² Five‐year relative survival is 88% in Hispanic women versus 94% in White women (Figure 6), with the gap mostly confined to regional‐stage disease. ⁵⁸

Colon and rectum

In 2026, an estimated 21,000 Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with CRC and 5,600 will die from the disease (Figure 2). CRC incidence and mortality rates among Hispanic men and women are approximately 10%–20% lower than among White men and women (Table 2). Lower incidence and mortality among Hispanic people compared with White people may partly reflect lower prevalence of several risk factors. Over one half of CRCs are attributable to modifiable risk factors, such as unhealthy diet (i.e., consumption of processed meats, low fiber intake, etc.), excess body weight, smoking, and high alcohol consumption. ⁶³ During 2023–2024, Hispanic people had a lower prevalence of smoking (8%) and heavy alcohol consumption (4%) than White people (12% and 7%, respectively; Table 7). However, CRC burden varies within the Hispanic population. For example, a 2024 study reported that CRC mortality rates among Hispanic men born in the United States were 38% higher than among foreign‐born Hispanic men and were similar to the rates among White men. ⁵⁴

TABLE 7.

Current cigarette smoking, electronic cigarette use, and alcohol consumption (%), for Hispanic and White adults aged 18 years and older, United States, 2023 and 2024.

	Current cigarette smoking, % a				E‐cigarette use, % b		Heavy alcohol consumption, % c		Binge drinking: 2024, % d
	Hispanic	Mexican e	Other Hispanic	White	Hispanic	White	Hispanic	White	Hispanic	White
Overall	8	8	8	12	4	9	4	7	22	29
Education, age ≥25 years
No high school diploma	11	12	10	35	3	16	3	10	19	23
High school diploma, GED	10	9	11	22	5	12	6	9	25	26
Some college	8	7	9	15	5	10	4	7	20	28
Undergraduate degree or higher	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	7	23	30
Income level
<100% FPL	10	9	12	30	4	15	3	8	15	20
100% to <200% FPL	9	9	8	23	4	13	4	6	20	22
≥200% FPL	6	6	6	9	5	8	5	7	24	30
Insurance status
Uninsured	10	9	12	23	5	16	4	9	22	28
Private	7	7	7	8	4	7	4	7	23	31
Medicaid/public/dual eligible	8	8	9	27	4	16	3	6	18	19
Medicare (≥65 years)	8	10	7	8	— f	1	3	6	8	10
Other (<65 years)	5	— f	— f	17	5	14	— f	8	20	27
Immigration status
Born in US/US territory	9	9	10	12	6	9	5	7	24	29
In US <10 years	8	— f	7	11	3	5	— f	— f	20	16
In US ≥10 years	7	7	6	10	3	7	3	6	20	24

Note: Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. All estimates are age adjusted to the year 2000 US population standard using five age groups (18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–64, and ≥65 years) and by four age groups (25–34, 35–44, 45–64, and ≥65 years) for education.

Abbreviations: FPL, federal poverty level; GED, General Educational Development high school equivalency.

^aEver smoked 100 cigarettes in lifetime and smoking every day or some days at time of survey.

^bCurrently using electronic‐cigarettes or other electronic vaping products.

^cMore than 14 drinks per week in the past year for males or more than seven drinks per week in the past year for females.

^dBinge drinking is four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men during an occasion.

^eMexican origin includes Mexican and Mexican American people.

^fEstimates are statistically unstable and not shown.

Declines in CRC incidence began later and were historically slower among Hispanic compared to White individuals of all ages; however, in more recent years, trends are similar. Incidence rates continued to decrease in Hispanic and White men by 0.8%–0.9% per year from 2012 through 2022 but have stabilized in Hispanic women since 2012 and in White women since 2018 (Table 3). However, these overall trends are driven by the oldest adults who have the highest rates; among Hispanic men and women under 50, incidence increased by 4%–5% per year during 2013–2022 (Figure 7). ⁹ CRC incidence has increased in young Hispanic people since the mid‐1990s ⁶⁴ but at a slower pace than in the past decade. Steeper increases in more recent years are due to screening uptake in individuals aged 45–49 years and increased detection of prevalent asymptomatic cancer because of new recommendations to begin screening at age 45 instead of 50 years. ⁶⁵ , ⁶⁶ , ⁶⁷ Mortality patterns mirror those for incidence with rates over the past decade (2015–2024), dropping by 1% per year overall (Table 5) but increasing by nearly 3% per year in Hispanic people younger than 50 years. ¹⁰

Hispanic people are slightly less likely to be diagnosed with CRC at a localized stage compared with White people (30% vs. 32%; Figure 5), perhaps because of less CRC screening. For example, 56% of Hispanic people aged 45 years and older are up to date for CRC screening compared with 67% of White people (Table 6). Hispanic people are more likely to be screened with a stool‐based test than White people (19% vs. 15%; Table 6) but are less likely to receive a referral for endoscopy after a positive stool‐based screening. ⁶⁸ Five‐year relative survival is lower among Hispanic people (62%) compared with White people (65%) for CRC overall (Figure 6).

Lung and bronchus

In 2026, an estimated 13,700 Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and 6200 will die from the disease (Figure 2). Incidence and mortality rates are roughly 50% lower in Hispanic men and 60% lower in Hispanic women compared to their White counterparts (Table 2), reflecting historically lower smoking prevalence. ⁶⁹ Approximately 85% of lung cancer deaths in the United States are attributable to smoking. ⁶³ Eight percent of Hispanic people smoked in 2023–2024 versus 12% of White people (Table 7), although there is substantial variation by education, insurance status, and poverty level. For example, smoking prevalence in Hispanic people with no high school diploma was nearly three‐fold higher than in those with an undergraduate degree or higher (11% vs. 4%; Table 7).

In addition to being less likely to smoke, Hispanic people who do smoke tend to smoke less and more intermittently than White people. ⁷⁰ , ⁷¹ However, substantial differences in historical smoking intensity by Hispanic origin group continue to influence contemporary lung cancer rates. ⁷² For example, an analysis in the Florida Cancer Data System indicated that lung cancer incidence rates among Cuban men were more than two‐fold the rates among Central and South American men, ⁷³ likely because of higher smoking intensity and frequency in Cuban people and historical targeting by tobacco industry marketing. ⁷⁴ , ⁷⁵

Long‐term smoking reductions are reflected in lung cancer incidence, which has declined since at least 1992 for the Hispanic population. Over the past decade (2013–2022), lung cancer incidence rates declined by 2.6% annually in Hispanic men and 0.4% annually in Hispanic women, similar to the trend in White men but approximately one half the pace of decline in White women (2.8% and 1.1% annually, respectively; Table 3). Differences by sex have been previously reported for the general population, ⁷⁶ resulting from differences in smoking patterns over time. ⁷⁷ , ⁷⁸ However, a larger proportion of Hispanic women with nonsmoking‐related lung cancer, which has stable rates, ⁷⁹ may also contribute. A study in Florida reported that 35% of lung cancer cases in Hispanic women were in those who had never smoked compared with 12% in White women. ⁸⁰ Lung cancer death rates decreased over the past decade (2015–2024) by approximately 5% annually in both Hispanic and White men and by approximately 3% annually in Hispanic and White women (Table 5). Steeper declines for mortality than for incidence reflect improvements in treatment as well as earlier stage diagnosis. ⁷⁶

The American Cancer Society recommends lung cancer screening with low‐dose computed tomography for those aged 50–80 years with a ≥20 pack‐year smoking history regardless of time since quitting. ⁸¹ Uptake of lung cancer screening with low‐dose computed tomography in the United States remains low. While National Health Interview Survey sample sizes are insufficient to provide stable estimates for Hispanic people, a study using BRFSS data in 2022 indicated that 17% of eligible Hispanic adults aged 50–79 years had undergone lung cancer screening compared with 18% of eligible White adults. ⁸²

Hispanic people are more likely than White people to be diagnosed with distant‐stage lung cancer (47% vs. 42%; Figure 5). Nevertheless, 5‐year survival rates among Hispanic people are similar to their White counterparts overall (30% vs. 31%, respectively; Figure 6) and by stage. ¹⁵ However, rates should be interpreted with caution: Lung cancer survival data for Hispanic people are particularly prone to artificial inflation because of a higher proportion of loss to follow‐up compared with White people. ⁴⁹

Prostate

In 2026, there will be approximately 29,500 new cases of prostate cancer in Hispanic men and 2800 deaths from the disease (Figure 2). Contemporary incidence and mortality rates are 19% and 17% lower, respectively, in Hispanic men compared with White men (Table 2). Similar to patterns in men of other racial and ethnic groups, ⁸³ prostate cancer incidence rates in Hispanic men generally declined from the early 2000s until 2014, then increased by approximately 1.6% annually (vs. 3.4% annually in White men; Table 3), partly because of changes in the prevalence of prostate‐specific antigen testing. ³³ In contrast, prostate cancer mortality among Hispanic men has declined since the mid‐1990s (Figure 8), similar to the trend among White men, with rates during 2015–2024 decreasing faster among Hispanic men (1.2% annually) than among White men (0.6% annually; Table 5). Long‐term declines in prostate cancer mortality reflect earlier detection through screening and improved treatment. ⁸³

Hispanic men are less likely than White men to be diagnosed with localized stage prostate cancer (64% vs. 71%; Figure 5). Consequently, 5‐year relative survival for all stages combined is lower in Hispanic men than in White men (92% vs. 98%, respectively; Figure 6). However, heterogeneity in survival by Hispanic country of origin has been reported. A nationwide analysis reported that prostate cancer survival was lowest in Cuban men and highest in Dominican and Central or South American men. ⁸⁴ Differences in stage distribution and survival between Hispanic and White men partly reflect lower prevalence of prostate‐specific antigen screening among Hispanic men (27% vs. 41% in White men aged 50 and older in 2023). ⁸⁵ Shared decision‐making between men and their health care providers about prostate‐specific antigen testing is recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society and especially mediates uptake among Hispanic men as well as Black men. ⁸⁶ One study reported no racial and ethnic differences in screening prevalence among men who reported shared decision‐making with their provider, ⁸⁶ underscoring an opportunity for primary care providers to increase screening among Hispanic men.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia

Although Hispanic people have lower incidence of leukemia than the general population overall, they have among the highest rates of ALL in children, adolescents, and adults. Despite being the most common type of childhood leukemia, ALL accounts for just 10% of leukemia overall, and 7% among White people, but 29% among Hispanic people. ⁹ Compared with White people, ALL in Hispanic people is 61%–65% higher for incidence and 71%–93% higher for mortality (Table 2). Among Hispanic children, incidence and mortality are similarly 31% and 73% higher, respectively, than among their White counterparts. ⁹ , ¹⁵ Reasons for high rates in Hispanic people are unclear but may because of variations in the prevalence of genetic and environmental exposures. ⁸⁷ , ⁸⁸ During 2013–2022, ALL incidence increased by 1.1% per year among Hispanic youth (aged birth to 19 years) and by 0.5% per year among White youth. Among adults aged 20 years and older, incidence increased by 2.0% per year among Hispanic people and by 1.3% per year among White people in the same time period. ⁹ In contrast, mortality among Hispanic youth declined by 3.1% annually from 1990 to 2015, then stabilized earlier than their White counterparts, whose rates have been stable since 2020. ¹⁰ Long‐term mortality reductions among children and adolescents are because of advances and optimization in chemotherapy. ³³ , ⁸⁹ For adults aged 20 years and older, mortality rates have declined by 2.2% annually among Hispanic people and by 2.8% annually among White people over the past decade (2015–2024). Five‐year relative survival is lower among Hispanic children (90%) and adolescents (74%) than among their White counterparts (94% and 87%, respectively), ¹⁵ in part reflecting underrepresentation in clinical trials that limits access to therapeutic advances; treatment nonadherence because of language barriers and financial stress may also contribute. ⁹⁰ Survival for adults aged 20 years and older is similar among Hispanic (51%) and White (49%) people. ¹⁵

Gallbladder

In 2026, an estimated 1300 Hispanic women and 900 Hispanic men will be diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, and 400 women and 300 men will die from the disease. Gallbladder cancer is one of the few cancers with higher incidence in women than in men. Hispanic women in the United States have the second highest incidence and mortality rates after American Indian/Alaska Native women. ⁹ The contemporary incidence rate in Hispanic women (2.4 per 100,000) is nearly twice that of Hispanic men (1.3 per 100,000) and is two‐fold to four‐fold higher than that of White women (1.1 per 100,00) and men (0.6 per 100,000; Table 2). Scientific literature on gallbladder cancer occurrence in the US Hispanic population by origin group is limited, partly because of the disease’s rarity. Globally, the disease burden has a unique distribution, with the highest occurrence by far in Chile, where rates in women are more than three times those in any other country. ⁹¹ Rates are also elevated in other Southern and Andean Latin American countries (e.g., Uruguay, Bolivia, and Peru) and are nearly two to three times higher than those in the United States, most of Central America, and Cuba. ⁹²

Reasons for excess risk in some populations are not well understood. The strongest known risk factor for gallbladder cancer is chronic gallstones (cholelithiasis). ⁹³ Higher prevalence of gallstones is associated with increased exposure to proinflammatory diets (e.g., diets with saturated fat and refined carbohydrates), which occur more frequently in Hispanic people than in non‐Hispanic people. ⁹⁴ However, less than 3% of individuals with chronic gallstones will develop cancer, and the presence of stones is neither sufficient nor necessary for malignancy. ⁹⁵ , ⁹⁶ Gallbladder cancer risk is also elevated among those with primary sclerosing cholangitis (i.e., chronic inflammation and scarring of bile ducts), although this condition is rare, with fewer than 200,000 cases in the United States. ⁹⁷ , ⁹⁸ Reproductive factors such as higher parity (i.e., five or more live births), which influence gallstone formation, may contribute to higher gallbladder cancer rates among women in general. ⁹⁹

Although contemporary incidence rates differ, trends in occurrence are generally similar by sex. Gallbladder cancer incidence has declined in Hispanic people since circa 2000, with rates in the past decade (2013–2022) decreasing by 1.1% per year in women and by 0.9% per year in men (Table 3). Similarly, gallbladder cancer mortality has declined since 1990 in Hispanic women and men, with rates during 2015–2024 decreasing by 2.6% and 2.1% annually, respectively (Table 5). Declines in mortality reflect decreases in incidence, rather than progress in earlier detection and treatment. ¹⁰⁰ Hispanic people are often diagnosed at regional (36%) or distant (44%; Figure 5) stages of gallbladder cancer because typically there are no symptoms until the disease is advanced. For regional‐stage and distant‐stage disease, 5‐year relative survival among Hispanic people is 33% and 5%, respectively. ¹⁵

Liver and intrahepatic bile duct

In 2026, an estimated 7700 Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with liver cancer, and 4600 will die from the disease. Incidence rates among Hispanic people are nearly twice those of their White counterparts (Table 2), and are the second highest in the United States after American Indian and Alaska Native people. ³³ Heterogeneity in liver cancer incidence by nativity and generational status has also been documented. A cohort study reported that third‐generation Mexican American men had a 66% higher risk of developing liver cancer compared with their first‐generation counterparts, ³⁹ partly reflecting a higher prevalence of risk factors associated with acculturation (i.e., hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection, obesity, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, etc.) However, third‐generation Mexican American men also had a higher proportion of localized stage at diagnosis, suggesting greater access to health care.

Liver cancer incidence has increased for decades in the United States because of high HCV infection rates during the 1960s to 1980s ¹⁰¹ and increased excess body weight in more recent decades, both of which are strong risk factors. Sex‐specific trends among Hispanic people mirror those in the general population ³³ and largely reflect differences in risk factor prevalence. ¹⁰² Among Hispanic men, incidence increased from 1998 to 2019, after which rates stabilized through 2022; whereas, among Hispanic women, rates continued to increase during 2013–2022 by 2.2% per year (Table 3). Although mortality in Hispanic people also increased during much of the past 3 decades (Figure 8), trends in recent years have been more favorable than in White people. Rates declined among Hispanic men during 2016–2024 by 2.3% annually and stabilized among women since 2015, compared to stable rates in White men and continued increases in White women (Table 5).

Although approximately 30% of liver cancer cases are attributable to HCV infection, ⁶³ risk factors among the Hispanic population vary by sex and ethnic subgroup. For example, an analysis of the Florida Cancer Registry reported that, whereas HCV was the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma among Hispanic men, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma in Hispanic women and in Central and South American men and women. ¹⁰³ In addition, a population‐based study in California reported that metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, a contemporary designation for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and other nonviral causes are increasingly driving liver cancer incidence among Hispanic people. ¹⁰⁴ Factors likely contributing to this shift include a rising prevalence of diabetes (31% higher in Hispanic people than in their White counterparts) ¹⁰⁵ and a disproportionate burden of metabolic syndrome compared with other racial–ethnic groups. ¹⁰⁶

Unlike many other cancers, Hispanic people are more likely to be diagnosed with localized stage liver cancer than White people (45% vs. 42%; Figure 5). However, an analysis of the National Cancer Database reported that Hispanic people are approximately 15% less likely to undergo curative‐intent procedures for early stage hepatocellular carcinoma and are nearly 30% more likely to experience treatment delays relative to their White counterparts. ¹⁰⁷ Five‐year relative survival rates for liver cancer among Hispanic people are similar to those among White people overall (20% vs. 21%, respectively; Figure 6) but are lower for early stage disease (32% vs. 36%). ¹⁵

Stomach (gastric)

An estimated 6200 Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with gastric cancer in 2026, and 2300 will die from the disease. The gastric cancer burden in Hispanic people is nearly double that of White people (Table 2), solely because of a higher incidence of noncardia tumors, for which the contemporary incidence rate is 5.0 versus 1.9 per 100,000. ⁹ The strongest risk factor for noncardia gastric cancer is Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Although population‐level data on H. pylori prevalence are limited, a study of Kaiser Permanente Northern California beneficiaries found the highest serum‐based antigen positivity among Hispanic individuals (56%) and the lowest among White individuals (22%). ¹⁰⁸ The incidence rate for cardia gastric cancer, which is more strongly linked to obesity and inversely associated with H. pylori infection, ¹⁰⁹ is lower in Hispanic people (1.4 per 100,000) than in White people (2.1 per 100,000). ⁹ Variation in overall gastric cancer rates by nativity has also been reported. For example, an analysis of the California Cancer Registry indicated that foreign‐born Hispanic men had 37% higher incidence than US‐born Hispanic men. ³⁶ This is likely because H. pylori infection is higher among foreign‐born individuals due to higher prevalence in Latin American countries than in the United States (approximately 45%–70% vs. 18%, respectively, during 2010–2022). ³⁵ Infection prevalence declines among second‐generation and third‐generation immigrants. ³⁶

After a period of decline, gastric cancer incidence overall has stabilized in Hispanic men since 2019 and has increased in Hispanic women (by 2.6% annually) since 2018 (Table 3). However, incidence trends for subsites vary by sex. Among men, rates decreased by about 1% per year for both cardia and noncardia tumors during 2013–2022 (Table 3). Among women, however, incidence for cardia tumors remained stable during 2013–2022, whereas rates for noncardia tumors have increased since 2018 (Table 3). Factors that may contribute to contrasting sex‐specific incidence trends remain unclear. Contrary to incidence, mortality rates among Hispanic men and women have declined since 1990 (Figure 8), with rates during 2015–2024 decreasing by 2.6% in Hispanic men and by 1.7% in Hispanic women (Table 5).

Hispanic people have a higher likelihood of distant‐stage stomach cancer diagnosis than White people (37% vs. 31%; Figure 5) and lower 5‐year relative survival (35% vs. 41%; Figure 6). Noncardia tumors, which account for one half (52%) of gastric cancers among Hispanic people and one third (35%) of those among White people, have notably different 5‐year survival rates (43% vs. 57%, respectively). Survival for cardia tumors is lower than for noncardia tumors and is the same between Hispanic and White people (29%). ¹⁵

Uterine cervix

In 2026, an estimated 3100 Hispanic women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 600 will die from the disease. Hispanic women have the second highest incidence of cervical cancer in the United States, following American Indian and Alaska Native women, ³³ and 36% higher rates than White women after adjustment for hysterectomy prevalence (Table 2). Higher incidence among Hispanic women compared to White women likely reflects differences in access to and utilization of cervical cancer screening (71% vs. 82% up‐to‐date in 2021, respectively; Table 6). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may also contribute to this disparity because Hispanic people are disproportionately affected by HIV compared with White people. ¹¹⁰ HIV infection increases the risk of HPV persistence and HPV‐associated cancers, including cervical cancer. ¹¹¹ One study reported that among, people living with HIV, cervical cancer incidence rates were approximately 70% higher in Hispanic women than in White women. ¹¹²

Cervical cancer incidence among Hispanic women has generally declined for much of the past 3 decades, largely because of the uptake of cytologic screening with the Papanicolaou test. ¹¹³ Since 2012, rates have stabilized, similar to White women (Table 3). However, incidence trends differ by age, with rates among Hispanic women aged 20–29 years decreasing by 1.7% annually from 1998 to 2016, then by 7.1% annually from 2016 to 2022. ⁹ The steep drop likely reflects HPV vaccination, which initially targeted the two high‐risk strains (i.e., HPV16 and HPV18) that cause 70% of cervical cancers. ¹¹⁴ The vaccine was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration 20 years ago (June 2006) and is recommended for use in females aged 9–26 years. ¹¹⁵

The nine‐valent vaccine, which protects against additional high‐risk HPV strains, has been the primary HPV immunization distributed in the United States since 2016. ¹¹⁶ As of 2024, the proportion of Hispanic versus White adolescents aged 13–17 years who were up to date with the HPV vaccination series was similar for girls (65% vs. 64%, respectively) and lower for boys (61% vs. 63%, respectively; Table 6). Continued widespread uptake of the HPV vaccine in Hispanic adolescents may further accelerate declines in cervical cancer incidence among young women. In contrast to incidence, cervical cancer mortality rates among Hispanic women overall have declined by nearly one half, from 4.2 per 100,000 in 1990 to 2.2 per 100,000 in 2024 (Figure 8). Over the past decade (2015–2024), mortality rates among Hispanic women decreased by 1.4% annually, whereas rates among their White counterparts remained stable (Table 5).

Hispanic women are as likely as White women to be diagnosed with localized stage disease (42%; Figure 5), despite lower prevalence of cervical cancer screening (Table 6). Differences in stage at diagnosis among Hispanic women by ethnic subgroup have also been reported. For example, one study indicated that Puerto Rican women living in the United States were 48% more likely than Mexican women to present with distant‐stage disease after adjustment for insurance status and other socioeconomic factors. ¹¹⁷ Five‐year relative survival for cervical cancer is slightly higher in Hispanic women (65%) than in their White counterparts (64%; Figure 6).

Uterine corpus

Uterine corpus cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women in the United States, with an estimated 9400 new cases and 1500 deaths expected in 2026 (Figure 2). Uterine corpus cancer is often referred to as endometrial cancer because approximately 90% of cases occur in the endometrium. ⁹ Contemporary incidence (37.8 per 100,000) and mortality (6.9 per 100,000) rates in Hispanic women are 10% and 16% lower than in their White counterparts (42.2 and 8.2 per 100,000, respectively), after accounting for hysterectomy prevalence (Table 2).

Uterine corpus cancer incidence has risen by 2.6% per year since 2007 in Hispanic women, whereas increasing trends in White women appear to have stabilized over the past few years (Table 3). Incidence in Hispanic women overall is increasing for both endometrioid and nonendometrioid subtypes, ¹¹⁸ whereas Hispanic women younger than 50 years are the only racial and ethnic group to also have increasing rates of sarcoma, which has the poorest survival. ¹¹⁹ Increasing incidence is likely in part related to rising obesity in the United States as 53% of uterine corpus cancer cases are attributable to excess body weight. ⁶³ During 2021–2023, 45% of Hispanic women in the United States were obese compared with 40% of White women (Figure 9). However, nonendometrioid subtypes are less strongly associated with obesity than endometrioid carcinoma. ¹²⁰ Similar to incidence, uterine corpus cancer mortality among Hispanic women has risen since the mid‐2000s (Figure 8), with rates during 2015–2024 increasing by 2.3% per year in Hispanic women and by 1.1% per year in White women (Table 5). The rise in mortality is largely driven by increases in nonendometrioid subtypes. ¹²¹

FIGURE 9.

Obesity prevalence (%) among Hispanic and White adults 20 years and older, United States, 2021–2023. Excludes residents in Puerto Rico. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Obesity is a body mass index at or above 30.0 kg/m². All estimates are age adjusted by the direct method to US Census 2000 estimates using the age groups 20–39, 40–59, and 60 years and older. Estimates exclude pregnant women. ^aEstimate has a confidence interval width between 5 and 30 and a relative confidence interval width >130% and does not meet National Center for Health Statistics standards of reliability or precision.

Hispanic women are less likely than White women to be diagnosed with uterine corpus cancer at a localized stage (67% vs. 71%; Figure 5). Studies suggest that Hispanic women experience inequalities after diagnosis. For example, a study in California reported that Hispanic women were 15% more likely than White women to experience surgical treatment delays for type II (i.e., higher grade, more aggressive) endometrial cancer after adjustment for demographic and clinical factors. ¹²² This is partly because of limited access to specialist referrals, provider biases in decision‐making, and other health care barriers. Five‐year relative survival is lower among Hispanic women (74%) than among White women (83%; Figure 6).

Cancer occurrence in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico (PR) residents are especially vulnerable to cancer disparities because of disproportionately low socioeconomic status, which is associated with higher cancer mortality. ¹²³ For example, in 2024, the island had the largest proportion of residents living in poverty (37%) in the United States, double that of second‐ranking Louisiana (19%) ¹²⁴ and the remainder of the US Hispanic population (17%) and four times that of White people (9%; Table 1). In addition, PR's population demographics have rapidly shifted in the past decade because of both out‐migration to the continental United States and Hawaii and declining birth rates, ¹²⁵ with the proportion of residents aged 65 years and older increasing from 17% in 2014 to 25% in 2024. ¹²⁶ Although cancer data are only available for all races and ethnicities combined for PR, 99% of the territory identifies as Hispanic, including 26% who identify as White, 6% who identify as Black, and 37% who identify as mixed race. ⁸ While cancer occurrence among PR residents would ideally be compared with individuals of Puerto Rican descent living in mainland United States, these data are unavailable by ethnic subgroup. Incidence data for PR are only available through 2019; therefore, comparisons in this section refer to cancer occurrence during 2015–2019.

The cancer burden in PR residents differs from that among other Hispanic people living in the continental United States and Hawaii. During 2015–2019, cancer incidence among men in PR was 20% lower than in White men but 7% higher than in other Hispanic men in the continental United States and Hawaii; whereas women in PR had 25% and 5% lower rates than White and other Hispanic women, respectively (Table 8). Higher incidence in PR men partly reflects a disproportionately high burden of prostate cancer; for example, the contemporary prostate cancer incidence rate in men in PR is 38% higher than White men and 63% higher than other US Hispanic men in the continental United States and Hawaii (Table 8). Increased rates of screening in PR may contribute to this gap because the prevalence of self‐reported, past‐year prostate‐specific antigen testing was 48% in PR men compared with the US median of 31%. ²⁶ In contrast, lung cancer incidence among people in PR is 68%–80% lower than among White people and 44%–60% lower than among other US Hispanic people in the continental United States and Hawaii (Table 8), reflecting lower smoking prevalence. Fewer than one fourth (24%) of PR adult residents had ever smoked (100 cigarettes) in 2024, the lowest of any state except Utah (22%), compared with 38% of the United States overall, ¹²⁷ in part reflecting strong tobacco‐control policies in the territory. ¹²⁸ For example, PR’s cigarette excise tax, the most effective tobacco‐control policy, ¹²⁹ is the third highest among all US jurisdictions ($5.10 per pack) after New York and American Samoa. ¹³⁰

TABLE 8.

Puerto Rico cancer incidence and mortality rates compared to the continental United States and Hawaii.

	Incidence, 2015–2019			Mortality, 2019–2023
	Puerto Rico	White	Other US Hispanic	Puerto Rico	White	Other US Hispanic
	Rate	Rate	Rate	Rate a	Rate	Rate
All sites
Male	419.9	525.9	391.0	122.0	177.8	123.8
Female	343.6	461.1	361.4	83.0	131.2	92.9
Breast (female)	100.1	137.1	103.1	15.4	19.3	13.6
Colon and rectum
Male	48.3	42.0	40.1	15.6	15.2	13.1
Female	33.1	32.0	28.5	9.7	10.9	8.5
Kidney and renal pelvis
Male	13.5	24.5	23.7	2.5	5.3	4.7
Female	6.3	12.4	13.7	1.1	2.2	2.1
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct
Male	14.0	11.4	21.0	10.2	8.5	12.1
Female	4.4	4.2	8.6	4.1	3.9	6.1
Lung and bronchus
Male	21.9	69.3	36.8	14.0	39.6	18.6
Female	11.4	57.6	25.6	7.2	30.5	10.9
Oral cavity and pharynx
Male	15.1	20.8	11.0	3.8	4.4	2.4
Female	5.1	7.3	4.5	1.0	1.6	0.8
Prostate	153.6	111.4	94.0	18.9	18.3	15.3
Stomach
Male	9.0	7.4	11.8	3.9	2.8	5.4
Female	5.8	3.6	8.1	2.4	1.4	3.7
Uterine cervix	16.4	9.5	12.4	— b	— b	— b
Uterine corpus	45.9	44.2	36.4	— b	— b	— b
Urinary bladder
Male	17.4	39.6	19.9	3.5	8.0	3.7
Female	4.6	9.8	5.3	1.2	2.2	1.2

Note: Puerto Rico incidence and mortality data include all races and ethnicities combined. White race excludes Hispanic ethnicity. Rates are per 100,000 and age‐adjusted to the 2000 US standard population. Incidence is adjusted for delays in reporting.

^a Mortality rates for Puerto Rico were derived from the National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Profiles.

^b Data not available.

PR is among the US jurisdictions furthest away from achieving the World Health Organization’s cervical cancer elimination goal (i.e., less than four cases per 100,000 women). ¹³¹ During 2015–2019, incidence in PR was 73% higher than in White women and 32% higher than in other Hispanic women in the continental United States and Hawaii (Table 8). Contemporary trends contribute to this disparity; according to an analysis in the Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry Database, rates increased by 2% per year in women aged 35–49 years in PR from 2001 to 2023. ¹³² The excess and increasing burden belies a high reported prevalence of Pap testing in the past 3 years (76% in 2024) ¹³³ and contrasts with contemporary declines in women younger than 35 years,¹³³ which is perhaps a sign of HPV vaccine uptake. In 2023, 76% of PR adolescents aged 13–17 years were up to date with the HPV vaccine compared with 61% of the United States overall. ¹³⁴ However, previous studies have reported an increase in distant‐stage cervical cancer incidence among women in PR (5% annually from 2001 to 2019), suggesting that trends are not fully explained by increased screening. ¹³⁵ Uterine corpus cancer incidence during 2015–2019 was also 4% and 26% higher in PR women than in White and other Hispanic women, respectively, which may in part reflect a higher prevalence of excess body weight and physical inactivity, which are associated with higher risk. However, direct comparison metrics of these factors by sex from national surveys are unavailable. CRC incidence during 2015–2019 was also higher in PR men (15%–20%) and women (3%–16%) compared with their White and other Hispanic counterparts in the continental United States and Hawaii (Table 8). A population‐based study reported that early onset CRC is increasing in PR by 3.8% per year, among the steepest increases in the world, ¹³⁶ which will surely exacerbate the island’s future burden. In contrast, breast cancer incidence among women in PR was 27% lower than that of White women and similar to that of other Hispanic women in the continental United States and Hawaii during 2015–2019 (Table 8). Cancer mortality differences in PR generally mirror those for incidence except for breast cancer, for which death rates in PR women are 13% higher than those of US Hispanic women (Table 8).

The disparity in breast cancer mortality and other cancers likely stems from health care system challenges, including out‐migration of health care personnel and destabilization of public health infrastructure due to a barrage of environmental disasters (i.e., Hurricanes Maria, Irma, Fiona, etc.) and the COVID‐19 pandemic. ¹³⁷ , ¹³⁸ , ¹³⁹ A study of claims data from Medicaid beneficiaries in PR reported that screenings for breast cancer and CRC declined in 2017 (during Hurricanes Maria and Irma) and subsequently in 2020 (during the COVID‐19 pandemic), with only breast cancer screenings reaching 2016 baseline prevalence in 2021. ¹⁴⁰ For cervical cancer screening, although minimal improvements were observed by 2018, rates never returned to the 2016 baseline and plummeted during the COVID‐19 pandemic. ¹⁴¹ Breast cancer screening recovery may be due to community‐based educational campaigns and federal cancer‐control programs in PR, such as the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides low‐income and uninsured women access to breast and cervical cancer screenings. ¹⁴² Contributions to the delayed rebound for CRC screening likely include transportation challenges, particularly in rural areas, direct and indirect costs of the procedure, and low perceived benefit. ¹⁴³

Limitations

This report provides critical information on the cancer burden in the US Hispanic population based on high‐quality, population‐based data. However, cancer occurrence data presented herein are not available by country of origin and are limited to the aggregated Hispanic population. This masks important differences in lifestyle behaviors, access to health care, and cancer risk within this heterogeneous group. In addition, caution should be used in comparing rates for Puerto Rico residents with aggregated rates for other US Hispanic individuals combined because data presented herein are not adjusted for socioeconomic factors that strongly influence cancer risk, such as education, insurance status, and other characteristics. ¹⁴⁴ , ¹⁴⁵ , ¹⁴⁶ Uniform coding of ethnicity in SEER registries began in 1992; since the mid‐2000s, central cancer registries nationwide have supplemented medical record information on Hispanic origin with Spanish surname matching using the NAACCR Hispanic/Latino Identification Algorithm to reduce misclassification, ¹⁴⁷ although undercounting likely persists. Similarly, although classification of Hispanic ethnicity on death certificates has substantially improved over time, inaccuracies and inconsistencies remain, so mortality data and trends should be interpreted with caution. ¹⁴⁸ In addition, the 5‐year relative survival rates presented herein are likely overestimated due to loss to follow‐up because of inconsistencies in vital status tracking, fragmented death linkages, and return migration. ⁴⁹ , ¹⁴⁹ Although the cross‐sectional incidence and mortality rates for uterine corpus and uterine cervix cancers are adjusted for hysterectomy prevalence, temporal trends are unadjusted and thus do not account for changes in hysterectomy prevalence over time. Although projected numbers of new cancer cases and deaths provide a reasonably accurate estimate of the current cancer burden in the United States, they cannot be used to track trends over time because they are model‐based; age‐standardized cancer incidence and death rates are the most accurate indicators of changes in cancer occurrence.

CONCLUSION

Lower overall cancer incidence and mortality among Hispanic people compared with the general population is largely driven by a low burden of tobacco‐related cancers because of less smoking, but this masks large disparities for preventable cancers. Hispanic people have double the rate of liver, stomach, and gallbladder cancer; 61%–65% higher rates of acute lymphocytic leukemia; and 36% higher rates of cervical cancer compared with White people. In addition, cancer incidence among Hispanic women is rising and is now nearly equal to that of Hispanic men. This shift may be particularly disruptive to Hispanic households given women’s traditional role as primary caregivers. ¹⁵⁰ Puerto Rico residents experience unique disparities exacerbated by a health care system with increasingly limited human and financial resources that is continually challenged by disruptions because of extreme weather events.

Community‐based cancer‐control efforts have proven especially successful in Hispanic populations, and future efforts could mitigate the cancer burden by emphasizing healthy eating; infection prevention and control; and the benefits of cancer screening, including opportunities to prevent cervical cancer and CRC. Screening interventions also should prioritize cultural and linguistically tailored education, with clinicians playing a key role because provider recommendation is the strongest indicator of uptake. ¹⁵¹ Finally, strategies to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on the cancer‐control continuum are needed across the United States, but particularly in Hispanic and other low‐income communities, which are often disproportionately affected by these events because of under‐resourced infrastructure and limited access to care.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest. Anatu H. Saka, Tyler B. Kratzer, Angela N. Giaquinto, Natalia Mazzitelli, Ahmedin Jemal, and Rebecca L. Siegel are employed by the American Cancer Society, Inc., a not‐for‐profit public health organization that receives support from the public through fundraising and direct contributions. The Society also receives a small portion of support from corporations and industry to support its mission programs and services.