57 - Gender Differences in Hematologic Malignancies

Abstract

There are consistent gender differences in the incidence of all hematologic malignancies in adults including acute and chronic leukemias, Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and multiple myeloma (MM). Such gender differences, although small, are consistent. A number of environmental and occupational exposures have been associated with the development of MM. These include a wide range of occupations that are not always consistent from study to study including painters, teachers (both male and female), metalworkers, farmers, and chemical workers. Gender differences in both the underlying illness and the types of treatment needed may play a role in the development of hematologic malignancies. Pregnancy, as a sex-specific condition, may affect both incidence and treatment of hematologic malignancies. Gender-related differences in response to therapy have long been a part of prognostic categorization in the hematologic malignancies. Gender differences appear to play a role in the incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and therefore the morbidity of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. In HD, female sex has been shown to be a positive prognostic factor generally attributed to a more favorable subtype, which is more frequent in women and diagnosis at an earlier stage of disease among females. Gender itself is not an independent prognostic factor, but it is associated with favorable differences in presentation.