Biological Sex Differences Instead of Behavioral Differences, the Reason Why Men are More Prone to Cancer: New Study

Cancer has been one of the primary causes of death worldwide, a disease which involve the imminent growth of mutated cells inside the body, as claimed by health authorities. The so-called malignant tumors or cancerous lumps can spread to other organs. The condition has killed millions of people around the world, with a number of individuals receiving a cancer diagnosis of various types.

Cancer progression varies depending on certain biological and environmental factors. This hypothesis includes the long-held notion involve the mystery behind why men have higher risk of cancer development compared to women. Now, a new study found that 'biological sex differences' could be the answer to the age-old question, instead of 'behavioral differences' like lifestyle choices associated with males.

The new research derived its data from a sample population for different both sexes, a fixed aged group, and cancer sites that span for 16 years. The study also employed experimental methods to adjust certain variables that are unbiased to yield results that are unfiltered and academically sound.

In the past, oncologists, scientists, and experts in the field have considered males to be more susceptible to cancer than females. The reason behind in such attribution was based behavioral differences in relation to alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, and other factors related to lifestyle and habits.

Why Men Have Higher Risk

(Photo : Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

In the new paper published in the journal Cancer on Monday, August 8, Sarah S. Jackson, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, and her colleagues quantified the contribution of risk factors of cancer by using sex disparities as an approach.

The research team acknowledged that cancer incidence is higher in men than women in most shared anatomic sites due to unclear reasons.

As mentioned earlier, the team discovered that factors related to sex disparities could be the key to the mystery, rather than focusing on the lifestyle aspect alone.

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Data Sampling

The team analyzed 171,274 male and 122,826 female participants, with an age range of 50 to 71 years old under the National Institutes of Health study from 1995 to 2011.

The results yield that biological factors like physiological, immunological, genetic, and other difference play a major role in cancer development for men vs. women.

Regardless of both previous and current findings, the main reason behind why men have higher rates of developing cancer than women remain partially unclear at this time.

However, the biological approach toward the question could be the first step toward finding out the answer.

Cancer Cases

In medical history, cancer diagnosis is relatively more often in men than women, according to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, which also cited the National Cancer Institute (NCI)'s statement that one in two men, and one in three women will receive the said diagnosis in their lifetime.

The NCI adds that the cancer mortality rate is higher amongst men than women.

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