CANCER MORTALITY AMONG CHINESE AND SOUTH-EAST ASIAN MIGRANTS IN FRANCE

The cancer risk in immigrants from China and South-east Asia (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) resident in France has been compared to that observed in the local-born population, using mortality data from the period 1979-1985 and population data from the 1982 French census. Risks were adjusted for important confounding factors such as social standing and area of residence. Compared to local-born, South-east Asian migrants of one sex or of both sexes combined have higher risks of cancer of the nasopharynx, stomach, liver, gallbladder, lung (in females only), and cervix. On the other hand, South-east Asian migrants have lower risks of cancer of the oral cavity, other pharynx, colon, rectum, larynx, lung (among males only), bladder, nervous system, breast and prostate. Within this group, the risks are quite similar for Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians. Results for Chinese-born migrants are quite similar, for most sites, to those found among South-east Asian migrants, although, because of smaller numbers, few of the estimates are statistically significant. These results are consistent with other studies on Chinese migrants around the world, and with the 3 other previous studies on Vietnamese migrants, in England and Wales, Los Angeles, and Australia. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.