Cancer risk among Holocaust survivors in Israel—A nationwide study
See related editorial on page 3226‐8, this issue.
Data for the current research were received from the Bureau for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled in the Ministry of Finance: Dr. Michael Meir (senior physician), Yerach Shafir (legal advisor of the bureau), and Dvora Kaminski (programmer); and from Mr. Chen Yurista (Executive Director of the Claims Conference in Israel).
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Holocaust survivors during World War II were exposed to various factors that are associated with cancer risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether Holocaust survivors had an increased risk for developing cancer.
METHODS
The study population included 152,622 survivors. The main analysis was based on a comparison between individuals who were entitled to compensation for suffering persecution during the war and individuals who were denied such compensation. A complementary analysis compared survivors who were born in countries governed by Nazi Germany with survivors born in nonoccupied countries. A Cox proportional hazards model was used, with the time at risk of cancer development starting on either January 1, 1960, or the date of immigration to the date of cancer diagnosis or death or the date of last follow‐up (December 31, 2006).
RESULTS
Cancer was diagnosed in 22.2% of those who were granted compensation versus 16% of those who were denied compensation (P < .0001). Adjusting for birth cohort, sex, country of origin, and period of immigration, both analyses revealed significant increased risks of developing cancer in those who were exposed. For those who were granted versus denied compensation, the hazard ratios were 1.06 (P < .001) for all sites, 1.12 (P = .07) for colorectal cancer, and 1.37 (P = .008) for lung cancer. For those born in occupied countries versus nonoccupied countries, the hazard ratios were 1.08 (P < .001), 1.08 (P = .003), and 1.12 (P = .02), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The current results, based on a large cohort of Holocaust survivors who were exposed to a variety of severe deprivations, add to the conflicting and sparse knowledge on this issue and support the notion that this group has a small but consistent increase in cancer development. Cancer 2017;123:3335‐45. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Number of times cited: 3
- Beti Thompson, Sarah Gehlert and Electra D. Paskett, Extreme population‐level events: Do they have an impact on cancer?, Cancer, 123, 17, (3226-3228), (2017).
- Siegal Sadetzki, Angela Chetrit and Laurence S. Freedman, Reply to cancer risk among Holocaust survivors in Israel, Cancer, 123, 21, (4295-4296), (2017).
- Lital Keinan Boker and Neomi Vin‐Raviv, Cancer risk among Holocaust survivors in Israel, Cancer, 123, 21, (4294-4295), (2017).
