Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41806187›Full record

ReviewJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology2026

Social inequalities in cancer in Germany: a call to action.

Nora Tabea Sibert, Maike Wellbrock, Ahmed Bedir, Nina Grundmann, Markus Herrmann, Jens Hoebel, Lina Jansen, Vera Popova, Lars Schwettmann, Volker Arndt and 9 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Nora Tabea SibertOncological Health Services Research, Clinic for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University Clinic Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. noratabea.sibert@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6314-8158
Maike WellbrockResearch Group Aetiology and Inequalities in Childhood Cancer, Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Ahmed BedirCancer Registry Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg, Germany.
Nina GrundmannBavarian Cancer Registry, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Nuremberg, Germany.
Markus HerrmannFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical and Data Ethics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Jens HoebelDivision of Social Determinants of Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
Lina JansenEpidemiological Cancer Registry Baden-Württemberg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Vera PopovaBavarian Cancer Registry, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Augsburg, Germany.
Lars SchwettmannDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty VI - School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl Von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
Volker ArndtEpidemiological Cancer Registry Baden-Württemberg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Tilman BrandDepartment of Prevention and Evaluation, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (BIPS), Bremen, Germany.
Anne-Christin GudeInstitute for Diversity Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Connie HoeDivision of Policy and Implementation Research for Cancer Prevention, DKFZ Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim, Germany, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Joachim HübnerAgency for Clinical Cancer Data of Lower Saxony, Oldenburg, Germany.
Milena LückemeyerInstitute for Diversity Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Ute MonsDivision of Primary Cancer Prevention, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Susanne Oksbjerg DaltonCancer Survivorship, Danish Cancer Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sven Voigtländer *Bavarian Cancer Registry, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Nuremberg, Germany.
Friederike Erdmann *Research Group Aetiology and Inequalities in Childhood Cancer, Division of Childhood Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial inequalities in cancer constitute a major public health challenge. A lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is consistently associated with higher exposure to cancer risk factors, lower participation in screening, more advanced stage at diagnosis, poorer survival, and adverse survivorship outcomes. In Germany, these inequalities remain insufficiently addressed in research and health policy.

methodsThis paper synthesises evidence and expert perspectives derived from a national workshop organised by the Cancer Epidemiology Working Group of the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) in collaboration with the German Cancer Research Center. More than 30 experts in cancer epidemiology and social inequality research, together with international contributors, reviewed-based on existing conceptual frameworks-the German data landscape, and empirical evidence across the cancer continuum. Structural, methodological, and ethical barriers were identified, and implications for research, policy, and practice were discussed. An international comparison with Denmark was used to contextualise findings.

resultsAvailable evidence demonstrates pronounced socioeconomic inequalities across nearly all stages of the cancer continuum in Germany, including prevention, screening, incidence, diagnosis, survival, and survivorship. However, major research gaps persist. Key barriers include limited availability of individual-level SEP data, reliance on area-based deprivation indices, restricted data linkage, fragmented healthcare structures, and limited integration of equity considerations into national cancer strategies. International experience shows that comprehensive registries, data linkage, and targeted interventions can reduce inequalities.

conclusionsReducing social inequalities in cancer in Germany requires coordinated and evidence-based action. Priorities include improving SEP data availability and linkage, embedding equity objectives into the National Cancer Plan, implementing targeted interventions for vulnerable groups, and strengthening intersectoral collaboration. Ethical and patient perspectives strongly support responsible use of health data to address avoidable inequalities.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesHealth Status DisparitiesNeoplasmsGermanyHealth PolicyHumansSocioeconomic FactorsHealth equitySocial epidemiologySocial inequalities

Identifiers

PMID41806187
PMCPMC12976156

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.