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. 2023 Jan 16:4:100152.
doi: 10.1016/j.crphar.2022.100152. eCollection 2023.

Sex differences in drug effects and/or toxicity in oncology

H T Rakshith  1 , S Lohita  1 , Anvil Preem Rebello  1 , Prakash S Goudanavar  2 , N Raghavendra Naveen  2
Affiliations

Sex differences in drug effects and/or toxicity in oncology

H T Rakshith et al. Curr Res Pharmacol Drug Discov. .

Abstract

The prevalence, incidence, and severity of a wide variety of diseases and ailments are significantly influenced by the significant disparities that occur between the sexes. The way that men and women react to pharmacological treatment also varies. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend these reactions in order to conduct risk assessment correctly and to develop safe and efficient therapies. Even from that limited vantage point, the manner and timing of our drug usage might have unintended and unanticipated consequences. There are sex-specific differences in the incidence and mortality of certain malignancies. One of the most important discoveries in cancer epidemiology is the gender inequalities. Cancer incidence differences between the sexes are thought to be regulated at the genetic and molecular levels and by sex hormones like oestrogen. Differences based on sex and gender are among the least investigated factors impacting cancer susceptibility, progression, survival, and therapy response despite their established importance in clinical care. The molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in particular are poorly known, hence the majority of precision medicine approaches employ mutational or other genetic data to assign therapy without taking into account how the patient's sex may affect therapeutic efficacy. In patients receiving chemotherapy, there are definite gender-dependent disparities in response rates and the likelihood of side effects. This review explores the influence of sex as a biological variable in drug effects or toxicity in oncology.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Oncology; Personalized medicine; Sex differences.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-standardized rate (world) per 1,00,000 incidence, males and females, in 2012. [Figure legend x-axis refer∗- Subnational data, reproduced from the source with the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license, which allows users to copy freely, reproduce, reprint, distribute, translate and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes] [source: Data Source from International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO, Reproduced from the source](Cancer Over Time, n.d.; Global Cancer Observatory, n.d.-b).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Estimated number of new cases from 2020 to 2040, Males and Females, age [0–85+]. [source: Data Source from International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO, reproduced from the source with the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license, which allows users to copy freely, reproduce, reprint, distribute, translate and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes](Cancer Over Time, n.d.; Global Cancer Observatory, n.d.-b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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