NOT because they eat, drink and smoke more!

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute examined the prevalence of different cancers in 171,274 men and 122,826 women between 1995 and 2011. The graph shows the number of cancer cases among men and women per people-years (horizontal axis) — the prevalence over time. Results show cancer rates are up to 11-times higher among men than women — just two cases of esophagus cancer among women per 100,000 people-years, compared to 22 cases among men
Men notoriously drink and smoke more than women — but that is not the reason they have a higher cancer risk.
A major study suggests biological differences are the real reason behind the disparity between sexes. Understanding these differences could help to improve prevention and treatment, researchers say. The study looked at 300,000 middle-aged and older Americans who did not have cancer over 15 years.
Men were more than twice as likely to develop the disease compared to women — even when lifestyle factors were ruled out. ‘This suggests that there are intrinsic biological differences between men and women that affect susceptibility to cancer,’ said lead researcher Dr Sarah Jackson, an epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute. Continue reading