{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T01:34:57Z","timestamp":1785375297266,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":125,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]],"date-time":"2023-02-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1677024000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Stanford Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center"},{"name":"Stanford Cancer Institute Women\u2019s Cancer Center Innovation Award"},{"name":"Stanford Cancer Institute Fellowship Award"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>It is well appreciated that the social determinants of health are intimately related with health outcomes. However, there is a paucity of literature that explores these themes comprehensively for the indigenous people within Micronesia. Certain Micronesia-specific factors, such as transitions from traditional diets, the consumption of betel nut, and exposure to radiation from the nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands, have predisposed certain Micronesian populations to an increased risk of developing a variety of malignancies. Furthermore, severe weather events and rising sea levels attributed to climate change threaten to compromise cancer care resources and displace entire Micronesian populations. The consequences of these risks are expected to increase the strain on the already challenged, disjointed, and burdened healthcare infrastructure in Micronesia, likely leading to more expenses in off-island referrals. A general shortage of Pacific Islander physicians within the workforce reduces the number of patients that can be seen, as well as the quality of culturally competent care that is delivered. In this narrative review, we comprehensively underscore the health disparities and cancer inequities faced by the underserved communities within Micronesia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers15051392","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,23]],"date-time":"2023-02-23T01:31:06Z","timestamp":1677115866000},"page":"1392","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Cancer Disparities among Pacific Islanders: A Review of Sociocultural Determinants of Health in the Micronesian Region"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3572-7379","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eric","family":"Pineda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ryan","family":"Benavente","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Megan Y.","family":"Gimmen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2199-8805","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicole V.","family":"DeVille","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8493-3868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kekoa","family":"Taparra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1037\/1089-2680.1.3.311","article-title":"Writing Narrative Literature Reviews","volume":"1","author":"Baumeister","year":"1997","journal-title":"Rev. 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