Cancer deaths higher in men than women -- study

The study, published in 'Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention,' drew its conclusion after an analysis of 36 different types of tumors and blood cancers by gender and age, using almost 30 years of data, from 1977 and 2006.

Cancer mortality higher in men than women
After examining the data, U.S. cancer researchers found that for most cancers, men are more likely to die from the disease, compared to women.

The reason why men have higher mortality rates than women, according to the researchers, is that more men develop specific types of cancer, with the highest overall death rates, than women.

Also, the disparity could be due to factors like smoking and drinking and fewer cancer screenings by men compared to women.

To reach their findings, a team of researchers led by Michael B. Cook, Ph.D., an investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, looked at 36 types of cancer to understand if there are gender differences in survival.

Study findings
The analysis found the highest male-to-female mortality rate ratios for lip, bladder, larynx, hypopharynx and esophageal cancer.

For lip and bladder cancer, male to female mortality rates were 5.51 to 1 and 3.36 to 1died respectively.

The mortality ratios for larynx, hypopharynx and esophageal cancer, male to female was 5.37-to-1; 4.47-to-1; 4.08-to-1, respectively.

For lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both genders, the research found 2.31 male deaths for each female death.

Likewise, for colon and rectal cancer, male to female death ratio was 1.42-to-1; pancreas, 1.37-to-1; leukemia, 1.75 men to one woman; and liver and intrahepatic bile duct, 2.23-to-1.

"We noted a consistent difference between genders," Cook said.

For some cancer survival gap between genders narrow
Though men have poorer survival rates than women for many cancers, Cook says, those differences are slight.

"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.

He told WebMD Web site that the reason for the difference in mortality rates is "not clear cut."

"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.

"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 said.