Colorectal Cancer Screening among Asian Americans

Abstract

<br/><b>Objectives</b>: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for all US populations includingAsian Americans. CRC screening has considerable benefits to prevent CRC and reduce mortality. The purposeof this article was to review the published literature on rates of colorectal cancer screening and factors associatedwith colorectal cancer screening practice among Asian Americans. <br/><b>Methods</b>: Through searching electronicreference databases from 2000 to 2013, 30 articles were found on Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, andVietnamese Americans. Findings: Asian Americans had significantly low ratesfor CRC screening; KoreanAmericans reported the lowest rates, while higher screening rates were found among Japanese Americans.Older age, longer length of stay in the US, and having a physician’s recommendation were the most commonfacilitators to receiving screening. The common inhibiting factors were financial issues, employment status,and worries/fears about the procedure. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: Despite a number of Asian Americans being vulnerableto CRC, individual Asian subgroups were underserved with CRC screening and intervention. Further studiesshould focus on each individual Asian subgroup and culturally proficient CRC screening intervention programsshould be developed for each.