Cancer in Italian Migrant Populations

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Migrant populations are of special interest to the cancer epidemiologist since they permit comparisons of the risk of cancer in populations of similar genetic background living in different environments. The differences in risk observed, and the rapidity with which they develop after migration, provide valuable clues to their relative importance of environmental and genetic factors in the etiology of different cancers. This monograph is unusual in focusing on a single source population - Italians - and studying their risk of cancer in many of the countries in which they have settled. The Italian diaspora is a large one with a wide variation of environments and cultures in the host countries providing a great diversity of exposures and lifestyles, which might influence their risk of cancer. The publication of this work represents the culmination of a large collaborative project. It provides a model for future studies of migrants in the methods of analysis in the presentation of the results of such an extensive set of comparisons and as an example of international cooperation in cancer research.