A new Israeli study recommends that Holocaust survivors undergo early tests to detect cancer
Avi Blizovsky
The cancer incidence rate among Holocaust survivors living in Israel is higher than among their peers who immigrated to Israel before World War II, according to a new and first Israeli study that examined the incidence of cancer among the population of Holocaust survivors in Israel. The study was conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa, funded by the Cancer Society. The study also determined that survivors who were of childhood age during the war are at a higher risk of contracting cancer than those who were older during the war and that survival from the disease among the survivors who contracted cancer is slightly lower than that of cancer patients who did not survive the war. The study was based on the collection of data from the cancer registry in Israel of approximately 2 million European-born Israelis, and from its conclusions there is a recommendation for increased vigilance to carry out tests for the early detection of breast and colon cancer among Holocaust survivors, as well as a call to the survivors' family members and those around them to be alert and attentive to their complaints and help them carry out the The tests for early detection, even if no symptoms were detected.
about the course of the research
The research conducted by Naomi Win Raviv under the guidance of Dr. Micha Barhana and Prof. Shay Lin from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa and in collaboration with Irena Lifshitz from the National Cancer Registry at the Ministry of Health, funded by the Cancer Society. This study is the most comprehensive study done so far in the field. The researchers compared cancer incidence data among 1,804,978 European-born people who were born between 1920-1945 and immigrated to Israel after World War II (the year of immigration was limited to 1989) and among 463,952 European-born people who were born between 1920-1939 and immigrated to Israel before the war (until 1939 ). The study was based on the collection of cancer morbidity data found in the Ministry of Health's National Cancer Registry. The registry has existed since 1960 and there is an obligation to report new cancer cases to the registry in Israel by law since 1982.
on the research findings
The researchers found that the prevalence of all types of cancer, after adjusting for age and time period, among male Holocaust survivors was 14 percent and up to 2.4 times higher than among men who immigrated to Israel before the war (corresponding to the age of the patients during the war). Among the women, this ratio stood at an excess of 21% and up to 2.3 times among the survivors. Similar findings also emerged regarding colon cancer - a frequency up to 9 times higher among men and up to 2.25 times higher among women who stayed in Europe during the war compared to those who immigrated to Israel before the war. Regarding breast cancer - women who survived the Holocaust developed the disease up to 1.5 times more often than women who immigrated to Israel before World War II and the risk for women who were children during the war was 2 times higher than for women who were older during the war.
Dr. Micha Barchana, director of the National Cancer Registry at the Ministry of Health and a senior lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa stated that: "As we know, life in the ghettos and concentration camps in Europe during the Holocaust was mainly characterized by severe overcrowding, a lack of means of subsistence, and harsh sanitary and environmental conditions , continuous hunger, which includes malnutrition and lack of various food components, cold, exhaustion and mental stress. These difficult conditions, and especially the caloric restriction and lack of nutrients, which the Holocaust survivors suffered throughout the years of the war, may be among the main causes of the findings"
Naomi Win Raviv, from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa added that: "The findings of the study also indicate that those who went through World War II at a younger age (born in 1940-1945) were at a higher risk of getting cancer. Exposure to hunger and malnutrition during childhood and adolescence, when the body is in an accelerated growth process, was found to be a factor that increases the risk of developing cancer"
The researchers also found that the percentage of survival from malignant diseases among Holocaust survivors was slightly lower (by 5% to 13%) compared to the percentage of survival among Europeans who immigrated to Israel before the war and also that Holocaust survivors are relatively diagnosed in later stages of the disease, probably due to a lack of A desire to "complain" about physical symptoms, which can explain this finding.
on the conclusions and recommendations of the study
The analysis of the findings of the comprehensive study led the researchers to the conclusion that although it is known that early detection of cancer saves lives, increases the chances of cure and saves a lot of suffering, it is of great importance that the survivors themselves and those around them exercise increased vigilance in performing tests for the early detection of breast and colon cancer . These tests are free in the health basket, as part of the national programs for the early detection of breast cancer and colon cancer, which operate at the initiative of the Association to Fight Cancer and by the Ministry of Health and the health insurance funds. Today there are 238,600 Holocaust survivors living in Israel and it is also very important that the family members of the survivors and those around them be alert and attentive to their complaints and help them carry out the tests for early detection, even if no symptoms have been detected. Health care workers and sheltered housing workers must also be aware of the benefits of early detection and encourage Holocaust survivors to make use of the various prevention programs available to them, and in particular the national program for the early detection of breast and colon cancer.
