People who survive the Holocaust have an increased risk of developing cancer

A new study conducted by Israeli scientists shows that people who survived the horrors of the Holocaust are at increased risk of developing various types of cancer. The obtained conclusions allow shedding light on how an extremely large-scale traumatic event can affect the health of representatives of certain ethnic groups and the population of countries as a whole.

Results of the work of Israeli scientists

A new study, the results of which first appeared in the journal Cancer, is one of the most extensive, dedicated to people who survived in Nazi concentration camps, and the development of cancer in them. During the study, scientists analyzed data on 152622 people affected by the Holocaust. They compared the health indicators of people who received compensation for the persecution during the war, and those who were denied it. Also, scientists compared the health of people who were born in the territories occupied by the Nazis, and those that were born in free countries.

Among the survivors there was a small but significant increase in the incidence of cancer. The disease was diagnosed in 22% of those who were compensated, and 16% of those who could not get it.

Researchers also noted a 12 percent increase in the risk of developing colon and colon cancer, as well as a 37 percent risk of developing lung cancer. Nevertheless, they found no increase in the incidence of breast cancer among surviving women.

In people born in the occupied territories, the risk of cancer increased by 8%, compared to those that were born in free countries. Also, these people increased the risk of developing colorectal cancer (intestines and colon) by 8% and lung cancer by 12%.

Causes of increased risk

It is worth saying that this study was observational and did not study the reasons for this relationship. However, scientists hypothesize that an increased risk is associated with psychological stress, hunger, overpopulation and frequent infectious diseases.

"The findings show why it is so important to study the joint impact of several intense traumatic factors, such as those that occurred during the Holocaust, on the risk of cancer," said Professor Seagal Sadecki from the Haim Sheba Medical Center in Israel.

A similar study

Previous research in 2006 also examined the risk of cancer in Holocaust survivors. At that time, scientists managed to obtain similar results. Although its authors did not find the biological mechanism that triggers these cancers, they believed that the development of pathologies was due to the constant malnutrition that the prisoners of the concentration camps suffered.