Immigrants in Norway with cancer: Stage at diagnosis, treatment and survival

In 2017, immigrants constituted 13.8% of the Norwegian population. The immigrant population in Norway is both growing and aging, and consequently, the number of immigrants with a cancer diagnosis is increasing. Little is known about stage at diagnosis, treatment and survival in this group of patients. The aims of the thesis were to assess if stage at diagnosis, waiting times for cancer treatment, choice of treatment, and cancer survival differ between immigrants in Norway and the host population. The thesis has taken advantage of the robust health and population registries in Norway, together with epidemiological methods to describe these topics. With exception of breast cancer, a more advanced cancer stage distribution was not detected for immigrants in Norway. Slight delays in cancer treatment of immigrants were observed for lung and breast cancer, while treatment patterns were considered similar between groups. Overall, Immigrants in Norway appear to have good cancer survival relative to the host population. Poor survival in immigrants from Eastern Europe and Balkan with melanoma and prostate cancer, and women from sub-Saharan Africa with breast cancer might be a concern