The effects of sex disparities on clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of 3937 Chinese patients with gastric cancer

Abstract Objective: To investigate the effects of sex disparities on clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of 3937 Chinese gastric cancer (GC) patients.Materials and methods: A total of 3937 Chinese patients, including 3098 males (78.7%) and 839 females (21.3%), diagnosed with GC at the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University of China were selected through inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the prognosis of the patients was followed up. Clinicopathological features were assessed, and univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed.Results: The ratio of male to female was approximately 3.7:1. Compared to females, male patients were relatively older and had more cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption history, higher percentage of late-stage GC, more proximal tumors, and better differentiation of cancer (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the male and female patient groups in terms of the cumulative overall survival rate (62.1% vs. 64.8%), 1-year survival rate (69.7% vs. 71.6%), 3-year survival rate (46.6% vs. 48.5%)and 5-year survival rate (20.8% vs. 15.8%). Female patients with cigarette smoking history and male patients in stage IV or without treatment had a poorer prognosis (p<0.05). Age, clinical differentiation, pathologic T stage, pathologic N stage, clinical stage, and surgery type were significantly independent prognostic factors (p<0.05).Conclusion: Sex disparities play an important role in clinicopathological features and prognosis of GC. Considering that the effect of sexual dimorphism in the development and prognosis of GC is complex, further research is warranted.