Cancer: why men get sick more often than women

The greatest risk of cancerin part it is caused by long-term alcohol consumption, an unbalanced diet and an unhealthy life. However, these factors do not explain why tumors have the most influence Men that the Ladies. About 377 thousand new cases of cancer are detected in Italy every year: 195 thousand in men and 182 thousand in women. It seems that it doesn’t just depend on the differences in behavior. The cause is very different.

The result of the study is an assessment of the differences in cancer risk for each of the 21 cancer sites. Differences performed on 171,274 men and 122,826 women, between the ages of 50 and 71. The study runs from 1995 to 2011. In this period 17,951 tumors were diagnosed and only 8,742 in women.

It turns out that men they are more at risk for cancers of the larynx, bladder, and esophagus. Women, on the other hand, are more at risk for thyroid and gallbladder cancer. But in the end, with the same eating habits and social behavior, men were always more likely to develop cancer. The key to the answer lies in the biological differences between the sexes.

Environmental and behavioral factors alone are not sufficient to explain the differences in the occurrence of cancer. This implies that there are inherent biological differences that can influence tumor susceptibility.

Sarah S. Jackson, PhD from the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study

Here, the biological variable inherent to the sex type should be included as a criterion/predictor for risk e prevention cancer. Furthermore, also in the screening and prevention activities, as well as in the therapy.