Men are much more vulnerable to skin cancer than women, according to an alarming analysis published today.
Researchers have found that men are much more likely to die from the disease than women in the UK.
Similar numbers of both sexes are diagnosed with the skin cancer melanoma each year.
Researchers said it was partly because men were reluctant to seek treatment – but there also seemed to be biological factors. Men are also most likely to get the disease on the back – where it is most difficult to spot.
Cancer Research UK warned the gap could widen in the future, calling on men not to hesitate to seek treatment.
The figures show death rates among men are 70% greater than among women. Some 1,300 men die every year in the UK from melanoma compared with 900 women.
And death rates among men have nearly trebled in 40 years, the organisation said, compared with an increase of 55% among women.
Dermatologist Professor Julia Newton-Bishop, of Leeds University, said: “Research has suggested the difference between the sexes could be in part because men are more likely to be diagnosed when melanoma is at a more advanced stage.
"But there also seem to be strong biological reasons behind the differences and we’re working on research to better understand why men and women’s bodies deal with their melanomas in different ways."
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