British Indians are less prone to cancer than the white population in the UK, researchers revealed on Wednesday. People who move from India have a lower incidence of cancer, but this rises after living in the UK, they added.
Therefore, cancer rates among British Indians are higher than cancer rates in India, except for cancers of the head and neck, according to the study published in the British Journal of Cancer.
The research examined the rates of cancer in the British white and British Indian population in Leicester between 2001 and 2006. The rates of cancer for the two groups were then compared to rates in India. British Indian men accounted for 165 cases and British Indian women for 175 cases out of 100,000 people of their own group. However, British white men accounted for 266 cases and British white women for 260 cases out of 100,000 people of their own group.
The findings of the study, according to the researchers, highlight and reinforce the links between both lifestyle and social factors with increased risks of different cancers. In India, cancers of the head and neck, breast, lung, cervix and oesophagus are the five most common cancers.
Among Britain’s white population, five common cancers are lung, breast, colon, prostate and rectum cancers, the researchers revealed.
However, for British Indians the five most common cancers are those of breast, prostate, lung, rectum and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.