According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology, phase II and III cancer studies conducted between 1980 and 2019, excluding those on sex-specific tumors (such as breast or prostate), found a sharp increase in toxicity Women, compared to men, who received immunotherapy.
The study looked at approximately 23,300 patients (38 percent female) who experienced nearly 275,000 side effects.
Joseph Unger, a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and first author of the study, said that with the increasing use of these important new treatments, a better understanding of the magnitude and underlying causes of these differences must be a priority.
Research has not been able to explain why these differences exist, but experts point to several hypotheses such as: B. Differences in the extent to which women and men report adverse events and how well they adhere to medication.
Regarding the first approach, the scientists clarify that the assessments of these toxicities were based solely on objective laboratory measurements and the differences in reporting would only explain part of this pattern.
In addition, both sexes may differ in the way they physically process drugs, for example females are less able to eliminate fluorouracil, an oncology drug that kills cells that get out of control.
Some experts suggest that the gut microbiota, an ecosystem of microbes in the body, may be involved due to its role in regulating inflammatory, metabolic, and immune pathways, as well as how women and men metabolize drugs.
The scientists indicated that they hope to contribute to ‘raising awareness’ of the differences between men and women and to better understand why these phenomena occur, in order to improve the therapeutic approach for cancer patients.
“Our hope and expectation is that patients will receive increasingly personalized treatment and that patient gender can be an important element in considering individualized treatment options,” said Unger.
mgt/cdg