Genes make men more prone to liver cancer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A U.S. study concluded a fundamental genetic difference between men and women helps explain why men are more prone to liver cancer.
"This is the first genome-wide study that helps explain why there is such a gender effect in a cancer of a non-reproductive organ, where you wouldn't expect to see one," said Arlin Rogers, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology experimental pathologist and lead author of the study.
Rogers said male and female livers are inherently different, with male livers expressing different genes than female livers and with the male liver not as well equipped to cope with chronic inflammation induced by certain infectious agents.
The scientists posit adult females are less vulnerable because a greater disturbance is required to initiate the cancer process.
The findings might also be relevant to cancers of other organs, such as the stomach and colon, which also are associated with chronic inflammation and are more common in men, Rogers said.
The research appeared in the journal Cancer Research.
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