Determining Middle Eastern ethnicity and cancer incidence through the New York State Cancer Registry

Place of birth and surname analysis was used to identify persons of Middle Eastern ethnicity in the New York State Cancer Registry. Proportional incidence ratios were calculated for a wide range of cancer sites; non-Hodgkin lymphoma, brain and central nervous system, some leukemias, and soft tissue sarcoma were among the sites identified as potentially being of higher risk for this group. HPV- related cancers were of unusually low risk.