BARCELONA: Several studies have indicated that men are more prone to developing cancer as compared to women, however very little is known about why they display a higher susceptibility towards this deadly disease.

A new study by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), has pinpointed the loss of function in certain genes of the sex-determining Y chromosome as a key factor that puts men at higher risk of cancer.

In the study that was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, scientists used data from 9,000 individuals and studied Y-chromosome gene function in patients with various types of cancer.

The findings showed that cancer risk increases with loss of function of six key Y-chromosome genes in various types of cells.

“Recent studies have shown that complete loss of the Y chromosome, which is essential to foetal sex differentiation, occurs, with ageing, in the cells of some men,” commented Juan Ramon Gonzalez, coordinator of the study and head of the Bioinformatics Group in Genetic Epidemiology at ISGlobal.

(With inputs from agencies)