Descriptive epidemiology of malignant tumors in Ethiopian Jews immigrating to Israel, 1984-89

This descriptive epidemiological study analyzes the frequency of cancer after the arrival of Ethiopian immigrants as reported to the Israel Cancer Registry from 1984 to 1989. The study cohort comprised 8,272 individuals (estimated 4,253 males and 4,019 females) with 27,966 and 26,848 person-years observed for males and females, respectively. Overall cancer incidence in this migrant cohort was low for both genders compared to cancer incidence among Jews born in Israel. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) (in percentage) for cancers at all sites was 39 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 22-64] and 63 (95% CI = 41-92) for males and females, respectively. Male primary liver cancer and female thyroid cancer had high SIRs. All other sites had either average or low SIRs. No cases of neoplasms were reported in the respiratory system. Except for primary liver cancer, digestive neoplasms had an inverse male: female ratio.