Cervical cancer is five times as common among Vietnamese American women as among white women, and Vietnamese American men have the country's highest liver cancer rate. Vietnamese Americans are also less likely than whites to get regular Pap tests, mammograms and other cancer screening tests.

A new Vietnamese-language, cancer-information and referral line, the first of its kind in the region, is helping to address such disparities. The number is (916) 449-5544. Vietnamese-speaking counselors, trained by the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service, field the calls. The line was established by AANCART (for Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Treatment), an NCI-funded project headquartered at UC Davis Cancer Center.

Among major metropolitan areas nationwide, the Sacramento region has the 11th largest Vietnamese population. More than 18,000 Vietnamese live in Sacramento and Yolo counties.

"We are proud to be able to offer this service, which will help to arm Vietnamese Americans with the information they need to reduce their unequal and unnecessary cancer burden," said Moon S. Chen, Jr., associate director for cancer disparities and research at UC Davis Cancer Center and principal investigator of AANCART.