A Case Series of Immigrant Cancer Patients in Iran

Abstract

Background Iran has recently experienced a recent influx of immigrants, mainly from neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. We report a case series of immigrant cancer patients who were admitted at Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran. Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-series using the medical records of immigrant patients diagnosed with cancer from March 2013 to March 2023. We performed descriptive analyses of the immigrant patients, including gender, age, country of birth, type of cancer, treatment courses, and metastasis status. Results The total number of immigrant cancer patients was 349, with 51.86% being female and 48.14% male. Among these patients, 8 (2.30%) were children (under 14 years old), 42 (12.07%) were young adults (aged 15-24), and 297 (85.59%) were older than 25 years. Most immigrants in the study were from Afghanistan (95.13%), followed by Iraq (4.58%). Additionally, 8.88% of the immigrants were second-generation, born in Iran. The most common cancer types were breast (32.04%), hematological (12.15%), ovarian (11.05%), and colorectal (7.18%) cancers in women and hematological (17.86%), colorectal (10.71%), musculoskeletal (10.12%), and skin (10.12%) cancers in men. Conclusion This study is the first description of cancer disparity among immigrants in Iran. The results of this study can be used for cancer surveillance and promoting care among immigrant populations in Iran.