Men are more often diagnosed with cancer at later stages

Clinical takeaway: Encourage timely evaluation of new symptoms and routine healthcare engagement for all patients, particularly men, who may face a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with several cancers at regional or metastatic stages.

Later-stage diagnosis can sharply worsen prognosis, helping explain part of the survival gap between men and women and pointing to opportunities for earlier detection.

Between 2015 and 2022, men in the United States were more likely than women to be diagnosed with regional or distant disease for most of the 30 nonreproductive solid tumors studied, according to SEER 21 data covering 2,401,772 cancer cases. The largest sex gaps appeared in tongue, salivary gland, oropharyngeal, thyroid, stomach, and melanoma. Compared with women, men were 151% more likely to have regional tongue cancer, 93% more likely to have regional salivary gland cancer, 80% more likely to have regional oropharyngeal cancer, 74% more likely to have regional thyroid cancer, and 67% more likely to have regional stomach cancer.

The pattern was similar for distant disease. Men had 134% greater odds of distant tongue cancer, 128% greater odds of distant thyroid cancer, 97% greater odds of distant salivary gland cancer, 56% greater odds of distant stomach cancer, and 50% greater odds of distant melanoma. A few exceptions ran the other way: men were less likely than women to be diagnosed at regional or distant stages for bladder, laryngeal, anal, and liver cancers.

Lead author Beth Maclin, PhD, MPH, said the findings may help explain sex differences in cancer mortality. “Cancer stage at diagnosis is a key predictor of cancer survival,” she said, adding that differences in screening, care-seeking behavior, and clinical evaluation may all contribute.

Source: Maclin BJ, et al. (2026 July 1) Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. Sex Differences in Cancer Stage at Diagnosis of Nonreproductive Solid Organ Tumors in the United States, 2015 to 2022