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Published on: December 9, 2013
Gender, Sex and Other Factors in the Development of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms
Reece Abrahall1, Mohamed Mortagy2, Yooyun Chung3
1Medicine Division, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Basingstoke, UK. Reece.Abrahall@hhft.nhs.uk.
Purpose Of Review:
To examine how biological sex and gender influence the tumorigenesis of neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN), integrating epidemiological evidence with hormonal, molecular, lifestyle and environmental factors.
Recent Findings:
Recent population-based studies demonstrate sex differences in NEN incidence, pathological characteristics and survival across multiple anatomical sites. Emerging evidence suggests that sex-hormone signalling, epigenetic regulation and the tumour microenvironment may contribute to these differences. Lifestyle and metabolic factors, including smoking and obesity, may further modify NEN susceptibility and interact with sex- and gender-related factors. Biological sex appears to be an important modifier of NEN development rather than simply a demographic characteristic. However, mechanistic evidence remains limited and the contribution of gender is poorly characterised. Prospective, sex-stratified studies integrating hormonal, molecular and environmental data are required to clarify these interactions and their potential clinical relevance.
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