Sex and Gender Differences in Kidney Cancer: Clinical and Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Sex and gender disparities have been reported for different types of non-reproductive cancers. Males are two times more likely to develop kidney cancer than females and have a higher death rate. These differences can be explained by looking at genetics and genomics, as well as other risk factors such as hypertension and obesity, lifestyle, and female sex hormones. Examination of the hormonal signaling pathways bring further insights into sex-related differences. Sex and gender-based disparities can be observed at the diagnostic, histological and treatment levels, leading to significant outcome difference. This review summarizes the current knowledge about sex and gender-related differences in the clinical presentation of patients with kidney cancer and the possible biological mechanisms that could explain these observations. Underlying sex-based differences may contribute to the development of sex-specific prognostic and diagnostic tools and the improvement of personalized therapies.

Reliable Prediction of Post-Operative Complications’ Rate Using the G8 Screening Tool: A Prospective Study on Elderly Patients Undergoing Surgery for Kidney Cancer

“…Another interesting finding that emerged from our study is a gender imbalance in the non-frail group patients (45 males vs. 26 females). Smoking habits and sex steroid hormones seem to have a possible role in explaining these gender disparities, but nowadays many studies are investigating the role of biological, genetic, and molecular pathways that explain the gender-related differences in RCC [21,22].…”

No sex differences in the incidence, risk factors and clinical impact of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with sepsis

“…Population-based studies indicated that women have a higher prevalence of chronic kidney disease overall, but men were more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events and death ( 43 – 45 ). Moreover, men were twice as likely to develop kidney cancer than women and had a higher mortality rate ( 46 ). These findings could be partly explained by the difference in sex hormones and the diseases mentioned above are chronic conditions.…”

“…We did several sensitivity and subgroup analyses for the primary outcomes. First, given the considerable impact of age on sex hormones (7), we conducted a stratified analysis according to age in decades (≤40, (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50), (50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60), (60-70], (70-80], (80-90] and>90 years). Second, to determine whether the illness severity of AKI would influence the results, we further compared patients without AKI to those with mild AKI or with severe AKI.…”

Sex-specific differences in early renal impairment associated with arsenic, lead, and cadmium exposure among young adults in Taiwan

“…Differences in renal impairment according to sex have been discussed in many studies dealing with issues such as kidney cancer, CKD, hemodialysis, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (Carrero et al 2018;Cobo et al 2016;Kainz et al 2019;Peired et al 2021). Some previous studies have indicated that the incidence of kidney cancer is higher in men than in women (Lughezzani et al 2019;Scelo et al 2018).…”