Breast cancer incidence by country of birth among immigrant women in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

IntroductionBreast cancer rates vary internationally and between immigrant and non-immigrant populations. We describe breast cancer incidence by birth region and country in British Columbia, Canada. MethodsWe linked population-based health and immigration databases for a population with >1.29 million immigrants to assess breast cancer incidence among immigrant and non-immigrant women. We report age-standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) by birth region and country using non-immigrant women as the standard. ResultsSIRs varied widely by both birth country and region. Low rates were found for South (SIR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.47,0.59) and East Asian (SIR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.72,0.79) women and a higher rate for Western Europeans (SIR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01,1.30). ConclusionThere is considerable variation in SIRs across some of British Columbia’s largest immigrant populations and several demonstrate significantly different risk profiles compared to non-immigrants. These findings provide unique data to support breast cancer prevention and control.