LUNG-CANCER RATES IN THE HISPANIC POPULATION OF CONNECTICUT, 1980-88

To identify lung cancer patients of Hispanic ethnicity, surnames in th e Connecticut Tumor Registry were matched with the 1980 Spanish surnam e list of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Also death certificates for w omen with lung cancer in the registry were examined to ascertain maide n names. For women Hispanic surnames in the registry were not good ind icators of ethnicity; their sensitivity was only 58 percent when compa red with the decedent's maiden name. Estimated age-specific incidence rates for lung cancer during the 1980-88 period among Hispanic men, us ing surnames in the registry, were lower than the rates for non-Hispan ic men, as expected from studies of Hispanic mortality in the Northeas t. The distribution of histologic types, including those most strongly associated with smoking, was similar for Hispanic and non-Hispanic me n. Although estimated lung cancer mortality rates were low for Hispani c men defined by surname, higher standard mortality ratios for Puerto Rican-born versus other Hispanic men suggested heterogeneity in lung c ancer death rates of the Hispanic population of Connecticut. Lung canc er incidence and mortality rates should continue to be monitored in th e Hispanic population of Connecticut, in view of anticipated increases attributable to trends in smoking behavior, and interventions should be planned to counteract anticipated increases.