Cancer diagnosis and care among rural-to-urban migrants in China

What is it about?

Cancer is a leading cause of death in China, and China accounts for about 27% of cancer deaths worldwide. Meanwhile, rapid and large migration is a driving force transitioning China. There are over 260 million people in China who lack local registration status (hukou), sometimes termed a “floating” population, whose cancer outcomes are not reported in cancer registry data. The objective of this study was to assess prevalence of cancer diagnosis and access to needed health care by residence and migration status in China. Using nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey, we found that prevalence of diagnosed cancer was 9.9 per 1,000 population among middle-aged and older adults who were rural-to-urban migrants. We also found that rural-to-urban migrants had lower use of preventive health check-ups in general, and diagnosis of screen-detectable tumors in particular, leading to potentially higher risk of missing early diagnosis of cancer. Closing gaps in diagnosis of screen-detectable tumors could increase treatment and improve cancer outcomes.

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