Gender-specific aspects of oncological diseases: focus on stomach cancer and colorectal cancer

Abstract

With each passing day, medicine strives to become more personalized, centered directly on the patient. A significant aspect of this dynamic involves the consideration of patients' gender, which influences their physiology, the pathogenesis of developing diseases, and their response to treatment. Historically, most research has been conducted on male cells, male mice, and men, with women of childbearing age often excluded from studies for their safety. It was assumed that female cells were identical to male cells, leading medical research to be predominantly focused on male physiology. However, this approach was fundamentally flawed, as individuals of different sexes differ in terms of epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, disease progression, and responses to treatment. Knowledge of these gender-specific characteristics can aid clinicians in their patient management. This literature review aims to examine the peculiarities of cancer progression in men and women, specifically in the cases of stomach and colorectal cancer.