Recent studies highlighted existing racial and ethnic inequalities — particularly for Pacific Islanders — in colorectal cancer death rates and infant survival without a major condition.

Using the California Cancer Registry, a 2024 study investigated whether there were racial and ethnic disparities in mortality in colorectal cancer patients under the age of 50, otherwise known as early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). Researchers disaggregated AAPI ethnic groups to study how clinical and sociodemographic factors contributed to these differences.

Findings revealed that Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic Black and Southeast Asian adults face higher EOCRC death rates compared to non-Hispanic White adults.

The results point to the existence of social determinants of health in explaining these disparities.

In another 2024 study, researchers aimed to determine whether improvements in survival without significant disease for very low birth weight infants were equitable across race and ethnicity in California. 

Survival without a significant condition, such as pneumonia and renal failure, is a desirable outcome for very low birth weight infants, who are more vulnerable in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Researchers found that along with Black infants, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders improved the most at 12.4% between 2008 and 2021.

Improvement notably plateaued after 2017.

For Asian infants, the survival rate was 68.9% in the last three years, compared to 68.5% for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders. The two groups respectively had the second and third highest rates among the racial groups behind American Indian and Alaskan Native.

Researchers observed improvement in survival without major morbidity over 14 years, with progress stalling in recent years. Inequities in NICUs remain, particularly in safety net NICUs.

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