Overall cancer mortality rates are higher for men than women in the United States, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Michael B. Cook, Ph.D., an investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues used U.S. vital statistics and a cancer database to assess whether cancer mortality rates and cancer survival differed by gender.
"Men are more likely to die from cancer than women," said Cook in a statement released by the American Association for Cancer Research. "We found this to be true for a majority of specific types of cancer."
In their analysis of five-year cancer survival, researchers adjusted for age, year of diagnosis and tumor stage and grade, when this information was available.
Although difficult to assign any singular root cause, variables included differences in tumor behavior, cancer screening among people without symptoms, presence of other illnesses, and health care-seeking behaviors.
While men have poorer survival than women, the differences are slight, and researchers believe that the statistics are caused by a higher diagnosis rate for men.
"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," said Cook.
"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."
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