A new report showing higher cancer death rates for Native Hawaiians, Maoris and Polynesians throughout the Pacific Islands re-emphasizes the need for better cancer screening, data collection and health education in smaller countries, according to contributors to the study.

The report, in the May issue of The Lancet Oncology research journal, looked at incidents of cancer, survival and death rates across Polynesian populations from Hawai'i to Easter Island to New Zealand.

It found higher rates of death due to breast, stomach, cervical and lung cancer in native populations compared with Caucasians in the same areas.

The study noted that 34 percent of Native Hawaiian men smoked, compared to 23 percent of Caucasian men; 28 percent of Native Hawaiian women smoked, compared to 16 percent of Caucasian women.

Deaths from breast cancer, stomach cancer, cervical cancer and lung cancer occurred in Native Hawaiian men at a rate of 145 per 100,000, versus a rate of 117 per 100,000 in Caucasian men.

Deaths from the same cancers occurred in Native Hawaiian women at a rate of 123 per 100,000, compared to 82 per 100,000 among Caucasian women.

The death rates for Maori men in New Zealand were even higher — 285 per 100,000, versus 174 per 100,000 for Caucasian males; and for Maori women — 231 per 100,000, compared to 125 per 100,000 for Caucasian women.

The differences between Caucasians and native groups are the result of often-lower socio-economic living conditions and "biological, genetic reasons," said Dr. Loic Le Marchand, director of the epidemiology program of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, who contributed to the report.

"It's well known that Native Hawaiians have higher rates of cancer," Le Marchand said. "For all Polynesians, especially in New Zealand and different Polynesian islands, we're trying to stress the need for improving the data collection for smaller countries, which usually don't have cancer registries.

"And, of course, we want to improve cancer cures and screening and health education to reduce smoking."

The study is part of a series of reports focusing on cancer rates and disparities in different regions of the world.