“Men are almost 40 percent more likely than women to die from cancer.” That’s the conclusion of a report released in Britain on June 15, 2009 by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) and Cancer Research U.K.
Gender-Specific Cancers Excluded from Study
The study reviewed all the British cancer statistics from the years 2006 and 2007. Overall, researchers found that men are 16 percent more likely to develop cancer than women.
Researchers excluded breast cancer and cancers such as ovarian and prostate that are specific to one sex from their study. They also left out lung cancer statistics “because the disease and its main risk factor, smoking, is known to be more common in men.”
The cancers that formed the core of the research were: esophagus, stomach, colorectal, liver, pancreas, malignant melanoma, kidney, bladder, brain and CNS, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.
Cancer Study Results Show Gender Gap
The researchers said they “expected to see that, across the broad range of remaining cancer types, men and women were just as likely as each other to die from and get the disease.”
However, “they found that for all of these cancers combined, men were still 70 percent more likely than women to die from cancer and 60 percent more likely to get cancer.”
Professor David Forman, information lead for the NCIN, said: “For many of the types of cancer we looked at that affect both sexes, there’s no known biological reason why men should be at a greater risk than women, so we were surprised to see such consistent differences.”
He added that "After taking out the effect of age, men were significantly more likely than women to die from every one of the specific types of cancer considered and, apart from melanoma, they were also significantly more likely to develop the disease.”
Theories about why Males are more Susceptible to Cancer
BBC News reported on the study (June 15, 2009) in an online posting entitled, “Men Warned of Greater Cancer Risk.”
The news organization said “Professor Alan White, chairman of the Men’s Health Forum, said men were generally less aware that factors such as smoking, carrying excess weight around the waist, having a high alcohol intake, a poor diet, and family history all contributed to an increased cancer risk.”
The authors of the study added that, “The explanations as to why men seem to be so much more at risk of so many cancers are complex and still only partially understood.”
Aside from the lifestyle issues whose cancer risks are well known, men are more reluctant than women to seek medical advice.
According to Professor Forman, “Men have a reputation for having a ‘stiff upper lip’ and not being as health conscious as women.
“What we see from this report could be a reflection of this attitude, meaning men are less likely to make lifestyle changes that could reduce their risk of the disease and less likely to go to their doctor with cancer symptoms.”
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