Cancer FastStats

Cancer among Asian Americans in Montgomery County, Maryland

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2024[1], as per the CDC.  Among different types of cancer, if we look at the data from 2018-2022, the rate of breast cancer among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Montgomery County, MD is higher, significantly surpassing other cancer types.[2].

Trend of new cancers among AAPIs

The most common type of cancer among Asian Americans in Montgomery County is discussed below:

• Breast: The rate of new breast cancer among AAPI women is 116.7 per 100,000 population[2].
  • In the US, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women of every Asian American and NHPI ethnic group, ranging from 17% of all cancers among Hmong women to 44% among Fijian women[3].
  • Compared to White people, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander people were 30% more likely to die from breast cancer[3].

• Prostate: The rate of new prostate cancers among AAPI men is 68.3 per 100,000 population[2]
  • In the US, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in AAPI subgroups, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Asian Indian, Pakistani, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, and Fijian[3].

• Colon: Colon cancer is the 3^rd most common cancer among AAPI in Montgomery County. The rate of new cases is higher among AAPI males (31.7 per 100,000) compared to females (25.4 per 100,000)[2].
  • In the US, the most diagnosed cancer among Korean, Hmong, and Cambodian men is colorectal cancer[3].

• Lung: Lung cancer is the 4^th most common cancer among AAPIs. The rate of lung cancer is higher among males (30.6 per 100,000) than females (22.3 per 100,000) in Montgomery County[2].
  • In the US, among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander women, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and Native Hawaiians[3].
  • In the US, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men for most of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander ethnic groups (for which there are sufficient data), ranging from 15% of cancer deaths in Asian Indian men to 27% in Guamanian men[3].
• Thyroid: Thyroid is the 5^th most common cancer among AAPIs in Montgomery County. The rate of new thyroid cancer cases is higher among females, with (25.5 per 100,000 cases) than males (7.6 per 100,000)[2].
• Uterine: Uterine cancer is common among AAPI females. The rate of new uterine cancer cases is 14.7 per 100,000[2].
  • In the US, compared to White people, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander people were 2.5- to 3.3-fold more likely to die from uterine cancers [3].

• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: It is the 7^th common cancer among AAPI in Montgomery County. The rate of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is higher among AAPI males (17 per 100,000) than females (11.2 per 100,000)[2].
  • In the US, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma ranks the 4^th common cancer among Filipino and Thai Asian males [3].

• Stomach: The rate of stomach cancer is higher among AAPI males (13.6 per 100,000) than females (6.6 per 100,000)[2].
  • AAPI are twice as likely to die from stomach cancer than Whites [3].
• Leukemia: The rate of leukemia is higher among AAPI males (12.5 per 100,000) than females (6.7 per 100,000)[2].
• Liver: The rate of new liver cancer cases is the 10^th most common cancer among AAPIs in Montgomery County, Maryland[2].
  • AAPI are nearly 40% more likely to die from liver cancer than Whites[3].
  • Liver cancer is the second or third most common cancer in Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian men. It ranks fourth in Chinese, Pakistani, and Tongan men[3].

Ways to lower cancer risks

• Health Education on the importance of HPV Vaccines for children aged 9-12 and 13 through 26 to prevent (Human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers as they age.
• Liver cancer may be caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV infection is preventable by receiving the HBV vaccine, so health education on the HBV vaccine among the AANHPI population.
• Awareness and education on cancer screenings (mammogram, pap smear, colonoscopy, lung screening) to detect cancer in early stages.

Updated 6.30.2026.

[1] Source: Underlying cause of death, 2018-2024, Single race request form. (n.d.). https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D158

[2] U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations Tool. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute; https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dataviz, released in June 2025.

[3] American Cancer Society Cancer Facts and Figures for Asian American Native Hawaiian and Other pacific Islander People, 2024-2026, 2024. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/aanhpi-cancer-facts-and-figures/aanhpi-cff.pdf

Diabetes Fast Stats

Trend of Diagnosed Diabetes Among Major Races in Maryland

Key points from the chart above:

• In Maryland, the data from 2024 indicates the percentage of diagnosed diabetes is highest among Non-Hispanic Asian 14.3%, followed by Non-Hispanic Black 13%, Hispanic 12.7% and Non-Hispanic White 8.6%[1].
• If we look at the trend of diagnosed diabetes among non-Hispanic Asian adults aged 18 +, the percentage of diagnosed diabetes increased significantly from 8.1 in 2016 to 13.3 in 2017¹. This percentage increased to 14.4 in 2021, decreased to 12.5 in 2022, and then increased again in 2023, and then decreased slightly in 2024[1].

Trend of diagnosed diabetes among major races in the US

Key points from the chart above:

• In the US, the data from 2024 indicates the percentage of diagnosed diabetes is highest among Hispanic 12.6%, followed by Non-Hispanic Black 11.7%, Non-Hispanic Asian 10.1%, and Non-Hispanic White 7.2%[1].
• In the US, if we look at the trend of diagnosed diabetes among non-Hispanic Asian adults aged 18 +, the percentage of diagnosed diabetes increased from 9.6 in 2023 to 10.1 in 2024¹. This percentage is 124% higher than in 2000[1].

Crude prevalence of diagnosed diabetes by detailed race and ethnicity among adults aged 18 years or older, United States, 2019-2021[2]

Key points:

• Among the major races in the US, the crude prevalence percentage of diagnosed diabetes was higher among American Indians, 16%, followed by Blacks 12.5%, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders 11.7%, Hispanic 10.3%, Asian 9.2%, and White 8.5%.
• The percentage of diagnosed diabetes among Asians as a collective is 9.25. However, when we look at the disaggregated data for Asian subgroups, the crude prevalence percentage of diagnosed diabetes is much higher for Filipino 12.2%, 10.8 % for Asian Indians, than for Chinese (7.1%), for Japanese (6.8%), for Vietnamese (6.4%), and for Korean (6.1%). This implies that the prevalence rate differs across subgroups, and this should be considered when planning programs for diabetes prevention and care.

Age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed, undiagnosed, and total diabetes among adults aged 18 years or older, United States, 2021-2023

Asians have the highest percentage of undiagnosed diabetes (6.6%) than all other races. In other words, of the 14.5% of Asians diagnosed with Diabetes, approximately half (46%) are not aware that they have diabetes. This disparity highlights the importance of diabetes screening among Asian Americans[3].

–

Updated 6.23.2026

[1] Surveillance – United States Diabetes Surveillance system. (n.d.).  https://usdss.cdc.gov/diabetes/surveillance.html#

[2] Data sources: National Center for Health Statistics; 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey.National Diabetes Statistics Report – United States Diabetes Surveillance System

[3] August 2021–August 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.National_Diabetes_Statistics_Report.pdf