# CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE MIGRANT JAPANESE IN HAWAII

> **NIH NIH R01** · KUAKINI MEDICAL CENTER · 1989 · $446,703

## Abstract

This is a prospective study of 8006 men of Japanese ancestry,
born from 1900 to 1919, who were questioned and examined from
1965 to 1968.  A wealth of epidemiologic-based data was
collected on these men, and they have been under continuous
hospital surveillance for cancer since their examination.  By
September, 1988, which is the proposed renewal date for this 5-
year proposal, it is estimated that there will be 1289 cancer
incident cases diagnosed in the study population:  215 prostate,
202 lung, 190 stomach, 188 colon and 101 rectal cancers, among
others.  We plan to study the following with this cohort:  1) the
association of serum uric acid, an antioxidant, with cancer by
specific type; 2) a further look at the relation of serum
cholesterol to colon cancer; 3) the association of urinary bladder
cancer (based on 90 incident cases) with cigarette smoking,
coffee, alcohol, and the intake of dietary vitamin A and C; 4) the
relation of pulmonary function measurements to lung cancer risk;
5) the association of physical activity with cancer risk, especially
colon cancer; 6) the identification of epidemiologic risk factors
for occult prostate cancer found incidentally in deceased subjects
in the cohort who have received protocol autopsies; and 7) the
identification of epidemiologic risk factors for occult thyroid
cancer found incidentally in deceased subjects.  In these two
autopsy-based studies, subjects with occult cancer will be
compared with subjects without occult cancer who have received
protocol autopsies done by the pathologist.

In addition to these seven objectives, there are three others.
From 1971 to 1975, 6860 subjects (85.7% of the original 8006 men)
were re-examined and serum samples were collected.  With this
resource, nested case-control studies will be done using pre-
diagnostic serum to determine the following:  8) the relation of
serum carotene and tocopherol fractions to squamous cell cancer
(which includes cancer of the mouth, hypopharynx, esophagus,
larynx, and lung); and 9) the association of certain serum trace
elements (iron, zinc, copper) with cancer by specific type.
Finally, a 30% systematic sample of the original subjects was also
chosen for re-examination from 1970 to 1972, at which time
fasting plasma triglycerides and lipoprotein fractions were
measured.  The association of plasma triglycerides and high, low
and very low density lipoprotein with cancer risk at specific sites
will be studied in this sub-sample of 2095 men.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3171457
- **Project number:** 5R01CA033644-07
- **Recipient organization:** KUAKINI MEDICAL CENTER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** M9GKSQB7UJ65
- **Principal Investigator:** ABRAHAM M NOMURA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $446,703
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-09-15 → 1993-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3171457

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3171457, CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE MIGRANT JAPANESE IN HAWAII (5R01CA033644-07). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3171457. Licensed CC0.

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