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. 2024 May 28:14:1372271.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1372271. eCollection 2024.

Cancer incidence in immigrants by geographical area of origin: data from the Veneto Tumour Registry, Northeastern Italy

Eliana Ferroni  1 , Stefano Guzzinati  1 , Alessandra Andreotti  1 , Susanna Baracco  1 , Maddalena Baracco  1 , Emanuela Bovo  1 , Eva Carpin  1 , Antonella Dal Cin  1 , Alessandra Greco  1 , Annarita Fiore  1 , Laura Memo  1 , Daniele Monetti  1 , Silvia Rizzato  1 , Jessica Elisabeth Stocco  1 , Carmen Stocco  1 , Sara Zamberlan  1 , Manuel Zorzi  1
Affiliations

Cancer incidence in immigrants by geographical area of origin: data from the Veneto Tumour Registry, Northeastern Italy

Eliana Ferroni et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Objective: We investigated whether there are differences in cancer incidence by geographical area of origin in North-eastern Italy.

Methods: We selected all incident cases recorded in the Veneto Tumour Registry in the period 2015-2019. Subjects were classified, based on the country of birth, in six geographical areas of origin (Italy, Highly Developed Countries-HDC, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South-central America). Age-standardized incidence rates and incidence rate ratio (IRR) were calculated, for all cancer sites and for colorectal, liver, breast and cervical cancer separately.

Results: We recorded 159,486 all-site cancer cases; 5.2% cases occurred in subjects born outside Italy, the majority from High Migratory Pressure Countries (HMPC) (74.3%). Incidence rates were significantly lower in subjects born in HMPC in both sexes. Immigrants, in particular born in Asia and Africa, showed lower rates of all site cancer incidence. The lowest IRR for colorectal cancer was observed in males from South-Central America (IRR 0.19, 95%CI 0.09-0.44) and in females from Asia (IRR 0.32, 95%CI 0.18-0.70). The IRR of breast cancer appeared significantly lower than Italian natives in all female populations, except for those coming from HDC. Females from Eastern Europe showed a higher IRR for cervical cancer (IRR 2.02, 95%CI 1.57-2.61).

Conclusion: Cancer incidence was found lower in subjects born outside Italy, with differences in incidence patterns depending on geographical area of origin and the cancer type in question. Further studies, focused on the country of birth of the immigrant population, would help to identify specific risk factors influencing cancer incidence.

Keywords: cancer; cancer registry; country of birth; immigrant; incidence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) per 100,000 and relative 95% CI by cancer site and geographical area of origin for subjects aged 20+ years. Males. HDC, Highly Developed Countries; HMPC, High Migratory Pressure Countries.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) per 100,000 and relative 95% CI by cancer site and geographical area of origin for subjects aged 20+ years. Females. HDC, Highly Developed Countries; HMPC, High Migratory Pressure Countries.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A, B) Incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% CI for all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in males (A) and females (B). HDC, Highly Developed Countries.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A, B) Incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% CI for colorectal cancer in males (A) and females (B). HDC, Highly Developed Countries.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A, B) Incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% CI for liver cancer in males (A) and females (B). HDC, Highly Developed Countries.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% CI for female breast cancer. HDC, Highly Developed Countries.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% CI for cervical cancer. HDC, Highly Developed Countries.
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