Study Finds That Gender May Predict Likelihood of Dying from CNS Cancer

A new study has found that young men have a heightened risk of death from central nervous system cancer regardless of the cancer treatment they undergo.

Central nervous system cancer is one of the top five cancers diagnosed in young adults. It develops when abnormal cells form in the tissues of an individual’s spinal cord and/or brain. The presence of some genetic syndromes also increases the risk of an individual being diagnosed with a central nervous system tumor.

There are different types of spinal cord and brain tumors, including germ cell tumors, meningeal tumors, pineal parenchymal tumors, medulloblastomas, ependymal tumors, mixed gliomas, oligodendroglial tumors, astrocytic tumors and craniopharyngioma. The cause of most spinal cord and brain tumors is not known.

Prior research has suggested that in comparison with young women, young men have an increased incidence of central nervous system cancer and a higher risk of death from this cancer. However, researchers are yet to ascertain whether sex-based disparities in outcomes are associated with other variables, such as the treatment administered.

For their study, the researchers assessed data obtained from the National Cancer Database, which they used to determine differences in outcome among young adults who had been diagnosed with central nervous system cancer based on gender. They used data from more than 47,000 patients, all of whom were aged between 20 and 39. Of the total number of participants, roughly 47% were male.

The researchers found that the incidence of meningiomas, at 28%, was lower in men. However, men also had a higher incidence of diffuse astrocytomas at 57%, glioblastomas at 60% and germ cell tumors at 67%.

They also discovered that men had a considerably higher risk of death after being diagnosed with any kind of brain tumor. This is in addition to finding that men also had a substantially higher risk of death from certain cancers, including oligoastrocytic tumors, oligodendroglioma, glioblastoma, anaplastic astrocytoma, diffuse astrocytoma, meningioma, mixed neuronal-glial and neuronal tumors and other malignant glioma.

The overall link between death from any brain tumor and gender was mediated by the treatment administered. However, the researchers didn’t observe any substantial indirect effects for a particular cancer subtype. They estimate that if men’s survival with brain tumors was similar to women’s survival, almost 35% of all fatalities in men and 20% of all fatalities would have been avoided in this cohort.

The study was conducted by Kristin J. Moore, Lindsay A. Williams and Christopher L. Moertel. The findings were published in the “Cancer” journal.

However, males need not despair if they are diagnosed with a CNS cancer; several companies, including CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP), are hard at work seeking better treatments for brain cancer so that patients can attain worthwhile clinical outcomes when diagnosed and commence treatment.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP

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