Reproductive cancers in women are driving a gender gap in cancer mortality

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-11 02:00

Australia; International; ACT

Photo by Angiola Harry on Unsplash

Women tend live longer than men and face lower risks of major diseases, but Australian and international research has found an increased risk of female cancer deaths in midlife that bucks this trend. The researchers looked at data on over 200 million deaths from 20 countries, including Australia and NZ, to look at gender differences in the causes of death. While women were less likely to die prematurely from most causes, they were more likely than men to die from cancer between the ages of 20-65, mainly due to breast and gynecological cancers. The researchers said that the focus on male disadvantage in longevity means female-specific risks have been overlooked.

News release

From: JAMA

Female Reproductive Cancers and the Sex Gap in Survival

About The Study: In this population-level cohort study of 20 low-mortality countries, females ages 35 to 60 experienced disadvantage in cancer mortality compared with males—a consistent pattern observed across birth cohorts and over time. These findings underscore the ongoing need for action on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of early-onset female reproductive cancers.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The Australian National University

Funder: Drs Canudas-Romo, Su, and Timonin acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council (grant No. ARC DP210100401). Dr. Su acknowledges support from the European Research Council (grant No. 101002587) and Leverhulme Trust (grant No. RC-2018-003), and Dr Banks acknowledges support from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Fellowship (grant No. NHMRC 2017742).

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