Dr. Sarina Schwarz
- Department: Clinical Epidemiology
- Unit: Translational Cancer Epidemiology
- Since 2023 Head of Unit Translational Cancer Epidemiology at Leibniz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS
- 2023 PhD degree, University of Bremen;
PhD thesis: “Follow-up of persons with a colonoscopy based on German claims data regarding repeat colonoscopies, polyp detection and colorectal cancer incidence” [translated from German] - Since 2018 Researcher at Leibniz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS
- 2016-2018 Working Student at the research group for Evidence-Based Public Health, Institute for Public Health und Nursing Research (IPP) & Leibniz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS
- 2015-2018 M.Sc. Epidemiology, University of Bremen;
Master thesis: “Characterizing treatment patterns in cancer patients using claims data – the example of crizotinib” - 2012-2015 B.A. Public Health, University of Bremen;
Bachelor thesis: “Heat-related excess mortality in Bremen – A time series analysis of the years 2000-2013” [translated from German]
My main research focus is on the early detection and prevention of cancer. I conducted my PhD in the field of colorectal cancer screening and I continue to give my attention to this topic. This includes studies on the effectiveness, utilization and quality of colonoscopies. I am also involved in other cancer projects (e.g., HPV vaccination for cervical cancer prevention) and in pharmacoepidemiologal projects.
- Development of prescribing patterns for combined hormonal contraceptives in Germany after Dear Doctor Letters (Rote-Hand-Briefe) in December 2018 and September 2021
- Individual cancer risk assessment: Development and evaluation of predictive models using health insurance data (OMEN)
- Joint Action for implementation of cancer screening programmes (EUCanScreen)
- PAS-study for Brodalumab
- Utilization of surveillance colonoscopy in Germany: Current status and future concepts (KOL-OPT)
Selected BIPS-Publications
Articles with peer review
- Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Didelez V, Haug U. Misleading and avoidable: Design-induced biases in observational studies evaluating cancer screening--the example of site-specific effectiveness of screening colonoscopy. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2025;
https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaf069 - Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. High utilization of colonoscopy and fecal occult blood testing for screening or diagnostic purposes in Germany: A longitudinal analysis. European Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2025;
https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000956 - Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Proportion and characteristics of screen-detected and non-screen-detected colorectal cancers in Germany. Acta Oncologica. 2024;63(1):924-931.
https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2024.40234 - Schwarz S, Braitmaier M, Pox C, Kollhorst B, Didelez V, Haug U. 13-year colorectal cancer risk after lower-quality, higher-quality and no screening colonoscopy: A cohort study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2024;176:111571.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111571 - Reilev M, Jensen PB, Ranch LS, Egenberg A, Furu K, Gembert K, Hägg D, Haug U, Karlstad Ø, Reutfors J, Schäfer W, Schwarz S, Smits E, Holthuis E, Herings R, Trifirò G, Kirchmayer U, Cesare Rosa A, Belleudi V, Gini R, Støvring Henrik, Hallas J. Methodology of the brodalumab assessment of hazards: A multicentre observational safety (BRAHMS) study. BMJ Open. 2023;13:e066057.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066057 - Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Pox C, Haug U. Polyp detection rate and cumulative incidence of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer in Germany. International Journal of Cancer. 2023;152(8):1547-1555.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.34375 - Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Pox C, Haug U. Colorectal cancer after screening colonoscopy: 10-year incidence by site and detection rate at first repeat colonoscopy. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology. 2023;14(1):e00535.
https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000535 - Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Kollhorst B, Senore C, Didelez V, Haug U. Screening colonoscopy similarly prevented distal and proximal colorectal cancer: A prospective study among 55-69-year-olds. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2022;149:118-126.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.05.024 - Heinig M, Heinze F, Schwarz S, Haug U. Initial and ten-year treatment patterns among 11,000 breast cancer patients undergoing breast surgery - An analysis of German claims data. BMC Cancer. 2022;22:130.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-09240-w - Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. 10-year prevalence of diagnostic and screening colonoscopy use in Germany: A claims data analysis. European Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2022;31(6):497-504.
https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000736 - Heinig M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Self-selection for mammography screening according to use of hormone replacement therapy: A systematic literature review. Cancer Epidemiology. 2021;71(Part A):101812.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2020.101812
https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6425860 - Schwarz S, Oppelt KA, Heinig M, Haug U. Potential of German claims data to characterize utilization of new cancer drugs: The example of crizotinib. Future Oncology. 2021;17(18):2305-2313.
https://doi.org/10.2217/fon-2020-1052
https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6428548 - Schwarz S, Schäfer W, Horenkamp-Sonntag D, Liebentraut J, Haug U. Follow-up of 3 million persons undergoing colonoscopy in Germany: Utilization of repeat colonoscopies and polypectomies within 10 years. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology. 2021;12(1):e00279.
https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000279 Articles without peer review
- Rischke N, Schwarz S, Haug U. Anwendung von Immuncheckpointinhibitoren in der Therapie von Lungenkrebs. Der Onkologe. 2021;27(11):1049-1057.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00761-021-01041-3 Presentations at scientific meetings/conferences
- Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Haug U. Health care utilization among persons who do not participate in colorectal cancer examinations: Reachability through the health care system. Münster. 2025.
- Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Didelez V, Haug U. Target trial emulation avoids bias due to non-alignment at time-zero in studies on site-specific effectiveness of screening colonoscopy. Basel, Switzerland. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Utilization of examinations for screening or diagnosis of colorectal cancer in Germany: A longitudinal analysis. Würzburg. 2023.
- Schwarz S, Braitmaier M, Didelez V, Haug U. 13-year colorectal cancer risk: Comparing persons with a low- vs. high-quality screening colonoscopy vs. no screening colonoscopy. Würzburg. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Screen-detected vs. non-screen-detected colorectal cancer in Germany: A claims data analysis. Greifswald. 2022.
- Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Pox C, Haug U. Polyp detection rate and cumulative incidence of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer in Germany. Greifswald. 2022.
- Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Kollhorst B, Didelez V, Haug U. Effectiveness of screening colonoscopy in reducing colorectal cancer incidence - Emulated target trials from German claims data. online presentation. 2021.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. 10-year prevalence of diagnostic and screening colonoscopy use in Germany: A claims data analysis. Leipzig. 2021.
- Schwarz S, Haug U. Colorectal cancer incidence within 10 years among one million persons undergoing screening colonoscopy: A claims data analysis. online presentation. 2021.
- Haug U, Schwarz S. Studies on the effect of drugs on colorectal cancer incidence: Considerable risk of misleading results. online presentation. 2020.
Posters at scientific meetings/conferences
- Kaiser Y, Schwarz S, Haug U. Utilization of the health check-up: Participants and non-participants differ regarding the uptake of cancer screening and the treatment of lifestyle-related diseases. Münster. 2025.
- Schwarz S, Haug U. Post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer rate strongly depends on time interval considered after colonoscopy. Aarhus, Denmark. 2025.
- Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Haug U. Health care utilization among persons who do not participate in colorectal cancer examinations: Reachability through the health care system. Aarhus, Denmark. 2025.
- Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Didelez V, Haug U. Time-zero violations cause bias in observational studies on screening colonoscopy. Turin, Italy. 2023.
- Braitmaier M, Schwarz S, Didelez V, Haug U. Time-zero violations cause bias in observational studies on screening colonoscopy. Copenhagen, Denmark. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Screen-detected vs. non-screen-detected colorectal cancer in Germany: A claims data analysis. Turin, Italy. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Utilization of colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic colonoscopy in Germany: A longitudinal analysis. Turin, Italy. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Utilization of examinations for screening or diagnosis of colorectal cancer in Germany: A longitudinal analysis. Copenhagen, Denmark. 2023.
- Schwarz S, Braitmaier M, Didelez V, Haug U. 13-year colorectal cancer risk: Comparing persons with a low- vs. high-quality screening colonoscopy vs. no screening colonoscopy. Turin, Italy. 2023.
- Schwarz S, Braitmaier M, Didelez V, Haug U. 13-year colorectal cancer risk: Comparing persons with a low- vs. high-quality screening colonoscopy vs. no screening colonoscopy. Copenhagen, Denmark. 2023.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Screen-detected vs. non-screen-detected colorectal cancer in Germany: A claims data analysis. Vienna, Austria. 2022.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. Screen-detected vs. non-screen-detected colorectal cancer in Germany: A claims data analysis. Heidelberg. 2022.
- Reilev M, Bjødstrup Jensen P, Støvring H, Skov Ranch L, Gini R, Bartolini C, Trifirò G, Kirchmayer U, Cesare Rosa A, Belleudi V, Haug U, Schwarz S, Schäfer W, Herings R, Smits E, Overbeek J, Holthuis E, Furu K, Gembert K, Hägg D, Tari M, Ientile V, Ingrasciotta Y, Egenberg A, Hallas J, on behalf of the BRAHMS study group. BRodalumab Assessment of Hazards: A Multinational Safety (BRAHMS) study of a biological anti-psoriatic drug across six European countries. Copenhagen, Denmark. 2022.
- Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Pox C, Haug U. Polyp detection rate and cumulative incidence of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer in Germany. Heidelberg. 2022.
- Schwarz S, Hornschuch M, Pox C, Haug U. Polyp detection rate and cumulative incidence of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer in Germany. Vienna, Austria. 2022.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. 10-year prevalence of diagnostic and screening colonoscopy use in Germany: A claims data analysis. online poster. 2021.
- Hornschuch M, Schwarz S, Haug U. 10-year prevalence of diagnostic and screening colonoscopy use in Germany: A claims data analysis. Online-Poster. 2021.
- Schwarz S, Haug U. Colorectal cancer incidence within 10 years among one million persons undergoing screening colonoscopy: A claims data analysis. Online-Poster. 2021.
- Schwarz S, Haug U. Utilization of repeat colonoscopies and polypectomies in Germany within 10 years: A claims data analysis based on more than 2 million index colonoscopies. Berlin. 2020.
- Schwarz S, Oppelt KA, Haug U. Using German claims data to characterize real-world treatment patterns in cancer patients - The example of crizotinib. Berlin. 2020.
- Schwarz S, Oppelt KA, Haug U. The potential of German claims data to characterize real-world treatment patterns in cancer patients - The example of crizotinib. Philadelphia, USA. 2019.
For further publications please follow this link:
- Travel Grant
United European Gastroenterology (ueg) Week (2023)
Reisekostenfinanzierung von Jungwissenschaftlern mit "best submitted clinical science abstracts"
- Since SoSe 2024: Seminar "Epidemiology I+II"; Bachelor's program Public Health/Health Science; Faculty 11: Human and Health Sciences; University of Bremen
The responsibility for the content of this page lies with Sarina Schwarz.
