Women are more likely to be cured of their cancer when undergoing radiotherapy than men are, but their side effects are likelier to be more severe, according to a review study published in Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology.1-2
According to study author Eva Bezak, professor of medical radiation at the University of South Australia, women are typically more sensitive to radiation than men, but international guidelines for radiation dosages don’t take this variable into consideration.
“It is clear that gender plays a role in the occurrence and response to therapy of many diseases,” said Bezak in a press release.2 “For example, it is already well established that men are more susceptible to head, neck and blood cancers and women are more prone to auto immune diseases as well as developing osteoporosis.”
Bezak, along with her colleagues Louis de Courcy from University…