Cancer-related death higher in men

The number of deaths from many types of cancer is higher among US men than women, probably due to factors such as their higher risk and later diagnosis. National Cancer Institute researchers analyzed almost the 30-year mortality registry from 1977 to 2006 in the US. The findings showed that apart from the gender-related cancers such as ovarian and prostate cancers, the overall death rate due to malignancies is higher in men. According to the data, the number of deaths from leukemia and cancers of colon and rectum, pancreas, and liver is 1.5 to 2 times higher in men. As for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in both genders, men are 2.3 times more likely to die from the condition, said the report published in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Gallbladder cancer, anal cancer, and the malignancies of the peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery, on the other hand, were associated with a higher mortality rate in women, the study found. While the mortality rate from many cancers is higher in men, the differences are slight and it is rather difficult to define any single factor as the main cause, said senior researcher Michael Cook. "Our research suggests that the main factor driving the greater frequency of cancer deaths in men is the greater frequency of cancer diagnosis, rather than poorer survival once the cancer occurs," Cook said. The inconsistencies in screening people without any symptoms, the presence of associating illnesses or health care behaviors, and differences in the behavior of the cancers may be other factors contributing to higher mortality rate in men, researchers suggested. "For many cancer sites, male and female incidence rates have changed disproportionately over time, and this implies that the root cause of sex differences in cancer incidence rates, and by extension cancer mortality rates, are sex differences in tobacco smoking and viral infections, anti-oxidative capacity and hormones and metal toxicity," the lead author added. "If we can identify the causes of these gender differences in cancer incidence then we can take preventative actions to reduce the cancer burden in both men and women," he concluded.