Sex, gender, and retinoblastoma: analysis of 4351 patients from 153 countries.
Eye (Lond)
; 36(8): 1571-1577, 2022 08.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34272514
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate in a large global sample of patients with retinoblastoma whether sex predilection exists for this childhood eye cancer.METHODS:
A cross-sectional analysis including 4351 treatment-naive retinoblastoma patients from 153 countries who presented to 278 treatment centers across the world in 2017. The sex ratio (male/female) in the sample was compared to the sex ratio at birth by means of a two-sided proportions test at global level, country economic grouping, continent, and for selected countries.RESULTS:
For the entire sample, the mean retinoblastoma sex ratio, 1.20, was higher than the weighted global sex ratio at birth, 1.07 (p < 0.001). Analysis at economic grouping, continent, and country-level demonstrated differences in the sex ratio in the sample compared to the ratio at birth in lower-middle-income countries (n = 1940), 1.23 vs. 1.07 (p = 0.019); Asia (n = 2276), 1.28 vs. 1.06 (p < 0.001); and India (n = 558), 1.52 vs. 1.11 (p = 0.008). Sensitivity analysis, excluding data from India, showed that differences remained significant for the remaining sample (χ2 = 6.925, corrected p = 0.025) and for Asia (χ2 = 5.084, corrected p = 0.036). Excluding data from Asia, differences for the remaining sample were nonsignificant (χ2 = 2.205, p = 0.14).CONCLUSIONS:
No proof of sex predilection in retinoblastoma was found in the present study, which is estimated to include over half of new retinoblastoma patients worldwide in 2017. A high male to female ratio in Asian countries, India in specific, which may have had an impact on global-level analysis, is likely due to gender discrimination in access to care in these countries, rather than a biological difference between sexes.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Retinoblastoma
/
Retinal Neoplasms
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Newborn
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Eye (Lond)
Journal subject:
OFTALMOLOGIA
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom