SEATTLE - Men are at higher risk than women of developing cancer within their lifetime, and a study released Tuesday shows they are also more likely to die from it.
The analysis, published in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, examined 36 types of cancer by gender, using almost 30 years of data, from 1977 to 2006.
It found that for the vast majority of cancers, men have higher mortality rates than women, with the highest disparities for conditions such as lip, throat and the rare hypopharyngeal cancer, which affects the area where the larynx and esophagus meet. Men were found to be about five times more likely to die from these diseases.
Cancers with the highest mortality rates -- such as leukemia and lung, colon and pancreatic cancer -- were also found to pose a greater risk of death for men.
Rachel Ceballos, a public health researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said researchers had suspected these disparities for some time but until now had lacked any hard data to support those theories. "There are really complex issues that go into these disparities," said Ceballos, and "this study provides a starting place, a better baseline on where to look."
Only five cancers -- including breast, thyroid and gall bladder cancer -- had a higher mortality rate for women than men.
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