Underlying biological sex differences rather than behavioural differences could be why men are at greater risk of most cancers than women, according to a new analysis.
A new study, led by the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA, assessed differences in cancer risk for each of 21 cancer sites among 171,274 male and 122,826 female adults who were participating in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health study from 1995 to 2011.
During that time, 17,951 new cancers were diagnosed in men and 8,742 in women.
Dr Sarah Jackson and her colleagues found thyroid and gallbladder cancers incidence were the only cancers lower in men than women, while risks were 1.3- to 10.8-times higher in men than women at other anatomic sites.
Writing in CANCER, they say the greatest increased risks in men were seen for oesophageal cancer, at a 10.8-times higher risk, larynx, which had a 3.5-times higher risk, gastric cardia (a 3.5-times higher risk), and bladder cancer (3.3-times higher risk).
Even after adjusting for behavioural risks and carcinogenic exposures, men had an increased risk of most cancers, and the differences in risk behaviours and carcinogenic exposures between the sexes accounted for a modest proportion of the male predominance of most cancers, from 11% for oesophageal cancer to 50% for lung cancer.
Dr Jackson said their findings suggest biological differences between sexes play a major role in the cancer susceptibility of men versus women.
“Our results show that there are differences in cancer incidence that are not explained by environmental exposures alone. This suggests that there are intrinsic biological differences between men and women that affect susceptibility to cancer,” she added.
Jackson SS, Marks MA, Katki HA et al. Sex disparities in the incidence of 21 cancer types: quantification of the contribution of risk factors. Cancer 9 August 2022
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