Advanced melanoma presentation and disease-specific survival disparities among disaggregated Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations

To the Editor: Asian American (AA) individuals are the fastest-growing racial population in the United States, projected to reach 46 million by 2060. 1 Key facts about Asian Americans | Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/Date accessed: June 9, 2022 Google Scholar Despite reduced melanoma risk, AA patients have poorer prognoses compared to non-Hispanic White patients. 2 Zheng Y.J. Ho C. Lazar A. Ortiz-Urda S. Poor melanoma outcomes and survival in Asian American and Pacific Islander patients. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021; 84: 1725-1727https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAAD.2020.08.086 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar Existing melanoma research commonly aggregates AA and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) individuals into a single category, limiting knowledge surrounding differences in melanoma outcomes among disaggregated AA and NHOPI populations. 3 Shah N.S. Kandula N.R. Addressing Asian American misrepresentation and underrepresentation in research. Ethn Dis. 2020; 30: 513https://doi.org/10.18865/ED.30.3.513 Crossref Scopus (35) Google Scholar We examined differences in stage at diagnosis and melanoma-specific mortality among aggregated and disaggregated AA and NHOPI populations within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 17-registries program to characterize their melanoma-related health disparities.