Gender Differences in the Incidence of Hereditary Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer (GC0 is primarily caused by Helicobacter pylori infection and smoking, with a higher incidence in families with multiple GC cases owing to lifestyle and genetic factors. The use of medications to eradicate H. pylori can reduce the incidence of GC. Furthermore, GC is the fourth most common cancer, affecting one in 11 men (9.1%) and one in 23 women (4.38%). The incidence of GC increases after 50 years of age, particularly among men. However, the reason for difference in incidence rates between both sexes remains unclear. We investigated the incidence of GC in families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). The results showed that the incidence of GC in families with HBOC was 4.2 times higher than that in other families. Furthermore, the incidence of gastric cancer in families with HBOC and other families was 74.57% and 53.67% in men, respectively. Overall, the higher incidence of gastric cancer in men than that in women may be due to the underlying cause of hereditary GC.