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Cancer survivorship affected by sexual orientation
Boehmer U. Cancer. 2011;doi:10.1002/cncr.25950.
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Compared with heterosexual men, gay men have a higher prevalence of cancer, and lesbian and bisexual female cancer survivors report lower levels of health than heterosexual female survivors, according to data from researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health, who said their findings can be used to set priorities for these populations in respect to cancer.
“This information can be used for the development of services for the lesbian, gay and bisexual population,” Ulrike Boehmer, PhD, said in a press release. “Because more gay men report as cancer survivors, we need foremost programs for gay men that focus on primary cancer prevention and early cancer detection. Because more lesbian and bisexual woman than heterosexual women with cancer report that they are in poor health, we need foremost programs and services that improve the well-being of lesbian and bisexual cancer survivors.”
Because cancer surveillance studies do not include information on sexual orientation, an information gap exists regarding these populations. To gain more information, Boehmer and colleagues examined the prevalence of cancer survival by sexual orientation in the state of California. They also examined how the health of cancer survivors differs depending on sexual orientation.
The researchers analyzed data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) — the largest state health survey conducted in the US — from 2001, 2003 and 2005. Adult cancer diagnoses were reported among 7,252 women and 3,690 men.
No significant difference in cancer prevalence by sexual orientation was noted among women; however, lesbian and bisexual female survivors were two and 2.3 times more likely to report fair or poor health compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Gay men were 1.9 times as likely as heterosexual men to report a cancer diagnosis, but self-reported health did not differ significantly by sexual orientation.
According to Boehmer, future studies should determine whether more gay men report a history of cancer because more are receiving cancer diagnoses or whether more are surviving a diagnosis compared with heterosexual men. In addition, future research should examine why lesbian and bisexual survivors have worse health perceptions compared with heterosexual women.
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