In the United States, men were more likely than women to be diagnosed with local and/or distant stages of 20 types of non-reproductive solid cancers from 2015 to 2022, according to a study published in 2015-2022. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers, and preventionJournal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
The findings may provide insight into differences between men and women regarding cancer outcomes, the researchers noted.
“Overall, we know that men are more likely than women to die from many types of cancer, and we also know that the stage of cancer at diagnosis is an important predictor of cancer survival,” said Beth Maclin, Ph.D., MPH, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Maclin explained that the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis is an important prognostic factor. Generally, the more advanced the stage of cancer at diagnosis, the worse the patient’s prognosis tends to be.
It is important to better understand how stages differ by gender as a way to explain gender differences in cancer mortality and identify potential points of intervention to improve cancer survival for all. ”
Beth Maclin, PhD, MPH, Postdoctoral Researcher, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute
Maclin and colleagues analyzed the stage at diagnosis of 2,401,772 cancer cases in the United States from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 21 database from 2015 to 2022. The research team sought to determine the association between gender and stage at diagnosis for 30 different non-reproductive solid organ tumors. Cancer stage was defined as localized (cancer that has not spread beyond the site of origin). Localized (cancer that has spread to nearby lymph nodes). or distant (metastatic cancer that has spread to other organs and/or distant lymph nodes). Local and distant cancers were considered late stage. Analyzes were adjusted for differences in age and year of diagnosis, and gender-specific cancers were not analyzed in this study.
For 16 cancer sites, men were significantly more likely than women to be diagnosed at local stage; The largest differences were observed for salivary gland cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, thyroid cancer, and gastric cancer. Compared to women, men were more likely to be diagnosed with localized tongue cancer (151%), localized salivary gland cancer (93%), localized oropharyngeal cancer (80%), localized thyroid cancer (74%), and localized gastric cancer (67%).
Men were also significantly more likely than women to be diagnosed at distant rather than local stage for 17 cancer sites. Of these, the most significant differences were between melanoma and cancers of the tongue, thyroid, salivary glands, and stomach. Men were 134% more likely to have distant tongue cancer, 128% more likely to have distant thyroid cancer, 97% more likely to have distant salivary gland cancer, 56% more likely to have distant stomach cancer, and 50% more likely to have distant melanoma.
For a small number of cancer sites, men were less likely than women to be diagnosed at a later stage. Men with laryngeal or bladder cancer were less likely than women to be diagnosed with localized cases (40% and 20% less likely, respectively). Additionally, men diagnosed with bladder, anal, and liver cancer were less likely than women to be diagnosed with distant cancer (31%, 16%, and 13% less likely, respectively).
Similar patterns were observed at different racial/ethnic and county-level median household income levels.
Maclin says there are a myriad of factors that could explain the observed gender differences.
“There are various possible explanations for why we found sex differences in most of the cancer sites we studied. One explanation could be differences in cancer screening uptake for the sites that can be detected by screening. There could also be differences in health care-seeking behavior. Existing research “Women go to the doctor more often than men, which could mean that clinicians have a better chance of detecting cancer symptoms earlier, and therefore more women may be diagnosed at a local rather than local or distant stage,” Maclin said. “There may also be differences in how clinicians recognize cancer symptoms in men and women, which could lead to different types of diagnostic tests and treatment plans, leading to earlier or delayed cancer diagnosis.”
Regardless of why men are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage with these types of cancers, early detection and regular engagement with health care providers are still important in preventing metastatic cancer, Maclin said. “My overall message is that everyone should go to the doctor regularly. If you notice any changes in your body, don’t delay seeing your doctor.”
Limitations of this study include the dataset’s lack of certain variables that could explain some of the trends, such as insurance coverage. Use of SEER staging data. Although this has enabled long-standing analysis, it is less specific than the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system commonly used in clinical practice. In addition, staging data is missing for more than 10% of cases of lip, esophageal, stomach, liver, pleural, bone, joint, eye, and orbital cancers.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program.
sauce:
American Association for Cancer Research
Reference magazines:
Maclin, B.J.; Others. (2026) Gender differences in cancer stage in diagnosis of non-reproductive solid organ tumors in the United States, 2015-2022. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers, and prevention. DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-25-1826. https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article-abstract/35/7/1166/786276/Sex-Differences-in-Cancer-Stage-at-Diagnosis-of
