Ancestry

Health researchers look at ancestry or ethnicity to help them understand causes of disease and the contributions of genetic and environmental factors. Links between cancer incidence and ancestral (ethnic) groups provide important information about certain causes of cancer.

Some cancers occur at higher rates in people of certain ancestries and ethnic groups. This trend is seen in cancers that occur in both adults and children. These differences in cancer rates may be due to many factors, including certain genetic or biological factors found in certain ancestries and ethnic groups.

For example:

Men of African ancestry have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer compared to Caucasian men.
Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent (Eastern European ancestry) have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Some types of leukemia are more common in Caucasians than in other populations.
The incidence of osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) is higher in children of African ancestry.
The incidence of kidney cancer (Wilms’ tumour) is slightly higher in children of African ancestry and lower in children of Asian ancestry.

References

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