Oral cancer and sex, Why do females do better?

Analysis of a group of 194 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity has shown that the survival figures for females is significantly better than that for males. The material has been analyzed in an attempt to explain this difference. The females in this series did not attend at an earlier stage, at a younger age or with more highly differentiated tumours. The site distribution was similar for the two sexes but the improved survival for females was found particularly with tumours of the cheek and commissure region and the lower alveolus. Various possible explanations are discussed and it is suggested that the host response of females to intra-oral cancer is different to that of males.