A cross-national perspective of migration and cancer: incidence of five major cancer types among resettlers from the former Soviet Union in Germany and ethnic Germans in Russia

Abstract

Background Few studies compared cancer incidence among migrants both to their host countries and to their population of origin. We aimed to compare cancer incidence of ethnic Germans who migrated from the former Soviet Union to Germany (resettlers) to those living in Russia as well as to the German and the Russian general populations. Methods The cancer registry of North Rhine-Westphalia identified incident cases of stomach, colorectal, lung, breast and prostate cancer in resettlers and the general population of the administrative district of Münster (Germany) between 2004 and 2013. The Tomsk cancer registry collected the same data in ethnic Germans and the general population of the Tomsk region (Russia). We used standardised incidence rate ratios (SIRs) to compare rates of resettlers and ethnic Germans with the respective general populations. Results The total number of person-years under risk was 83,289 for ethnic Germans, 8,006,775 for the population of Tomsk, 219,604 for resettlers, and 20,516,782 for the population of Münster. Incidence of the five investigated cancer types among ethnic Germans did not differ from incidence of the general population of Tomsk. Compared to the general population of Tomsk, incidence among resettlers was higher for colorectal cancer in both sexes (females: SIR 1.45 [95% CI 1.14–1.83], males: SIR 1.56 [95% CI 1.23–1.97]), breast cancer in females (SIR 1.65 [95% CI 1.40–1.95]), and prostate cancer (SIR 1.64 [95% CI 1.34–2.01]). Incidence rates of these cancer types among resettlers were more similar to rates of the general population of Münster. Incidence of stomach and lung cancer did not differ between resettlers and the general population of Tomsk. Conclusions After an average stay of 15 years, we observed that incidence of colorectal, breast and prostate cancer among resettlers converged to levels of the general population of Münster. Resettler’s incidence of stomach and lung cancer, however, was comparable to incidence in their population of origin. Causes must be investigated in subsequent analytical studies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-6058-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No evidence to support the impact of migration background on treatment response rates and cancer survival: a retrospective matched-pair analysis in Germany

“…The overall share of German citizens with a migrant background in the total population amounts to 13.4% [ 5 ]. Interestingly, one study analyzed the cross-national prospective of cancer incidences among ethnic Germans who migrated from the former Soviet Union to Germany (also named as resettlers) and those residing in Russia, and concluded that the incidence among migrant populations often remains the same between the population of origin and the new host community [ 6 , 7 ]. Given that Germany is home to ~ 4 million people with Turkish roots, Spallek et al found in a similar cross-national study that cancer of the respiratory organs is diagnosed less frequently in Turkish men in older birth cohorts, whereas it is more frequent in younger birth cohorts [ 8 ].…”

The Health Status and Healthcare Utilization of Ethnic Germans in Russia

“…However, resettlers exhibit lower all-cause mortality and a lower mortality from cardiovascular disease compared with the general population [ 15 ]. Research on the health of ethnic Germans in Russia is limited to one study that compared cancer incidence between ethnic Germans and the general population in the district of Tomsk, Russia [ 26 ].…”

A Matched-pair Analysis on the Effect of Migration Background on Response Rates and Survival of Cancer Patients Treated at a Comprehensive Cancer Center in Germany

“…They observed a better outcome of rst-generation non-Western immigrants compared with Western patients. Meanwhile, research in Germany has concentrated on speci c ethnic groups: Jaehn et al [7,8] investigated etiologic differences and incidence rates among migrants from the former Soviet Union and the general population in Germany. Their conclusion is that cancer incidence among migrant populations shows a transition of incidence rates of their country of origin to incidence rates of their new host country.…”