Men more likely to die from cancer: study
Gender difference Men who are diagnosed with cancer are more likely to die from the disease than women, due to a higher initial risk and later detection, US research shows.
It found the highest male-to-female mortality rate ratios for cancers like lip, where 5.5 men died for each woman patient, and oesophageal, where 4 men died for each woman patient.
For lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women, the research found 2.3 male deaths for each female death.
The main reason for the difference is that men are more at risk of developing cancer to begin with, according to Michael Cook, an investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the NCI and the study's lead investigator.
The average lifetime chance that a man will develop lung cancer is about 1 in 13, compared to 1 in 16 for a woman, according to the American Cancer Society.
American men are more likely than women to have advanced disease by the time their cancer is diagnosed, says Cook.
He says gender differences in exposure to carcinogens, including tobacco smoke and viral infections, play a role in the rate disparity. The study also cited "universal" mechanisms, such as sex chromosomes and hormones, which may contribute to observed sex differences in cancer incidence.
The NCI researchers say there was no single root cause for the rate disparity, but influences include differences in behaviour of the tumour, cancer screening for people without symptoms, presence of other illnesses and whether patients sought healthcare services.
Professor Ian Olver, CEO of Cancer Council Australia says the findings would be similar in Australia.
"We're a developed nation to the same degree as the United States and we have very similar characteristics in terms of diet, exercise, smoking, etc. I would suggest that the factors that influence incidence are pretty similar," he says.
According to Olver, one interesting finding from the study is the changing incidence of lung cancer over time.
He says the number of men who smoke has dropped since the start of WWII, while the number of women smoking has increased.
"Given that lung cancer would sometimes occur several decades later ... suddenly that ratio (male compare to women) decreases as more women smoke and get lung cancer."