Questions, answers and discussions regarding general pathology
HomeQ: I read that some cancers are more common in men than in women (e.g. lung, liver and bladder cancer) and vice versa (meningioma, thyroid cancer). Why is this? Could it be caused by hormones or some other factors or is it just a complete mystery?
Q: I read that some cancers are more common in men than in women (e.g. lung, liver and bladder cancer) and vice versa (meningioma, thyroid cancer). Why is this? Could it be caused by hormones or some other factors or is it just a complete mystery?
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Most cancers show some differences in incidence between men and women. Despite or the obvious, where the organ of origin is only found in either men or women (!), including ovarian, uterine, prostate or penile cancer, both endogenous and exogenous factors may be involved. Hormones might influence the growth of individual cancer cells, for example in breast cancer, but hormones presumably is not the cause of the development of the cancer cells by themselves. The best known causes of gender differences are the exogenous, including smoking and alcohol comsumption. This explains why lung and bladder cancer is more prevalent in men than in women (smoking is still more common in men than in women) and why liver cell cancer (i.e. hepatocellular carcinoma) is more prevalent in males (more men drink excessively than women). In regions where viral hepatitis is endemic (e.g. South-East Asia; chronic viral hepatitis predisposes to development of liver neoplasia), this gender difference is not observed.
Most cancers show some differences in incidence between men and women. Despite or the obvious, where the organ of origin is only found in either men or women (!), including ovarian, uterine, prostate or penile cancer, both endogenous and exogenous factors may be involved. Hormones might influence the growth of individual cancer cells, for example in breast cancer, but hormones presumably is not the cause of the development of the cancer cells by themselves. The best known causes of gender differences are the exogenous, including smoking and alcohol comsumption. This explains why lung and bladder cancer is more prevalent in men than in women (smoking is still more common in men than in women) and why liver cell cancer (i.e. hepatocellular carcinoma) is more prevalent in males (more men drink excessively than women). In regions where viral hepatitis is endemic (e.g. South-East Asia; chronic viral hepatitis predisposes to development of liver neoplasia), this gender difference is not observed.