Researchers at the Australian Peter McCallum Cancer Center  decided to find out why men suffer from cancer more often than women - unless, of course, we take into account tumors associated with the reproductive system (in the sense that cervical cancer in men simply cannot be) Cells are known to become malignant due to mutations. One of the most common cancer mutations is mutations in the TP53 gene. It encodes the p53 protein, which is often called the "guardian of the genome" - p53 monitors DNA damage, and if they accumulate too much, it stops cell division and starts the program of apoptosis (cell suicide). If p53, due to a mutation, does not work well, or if there is very little of it in the cell, other mutations will begin to accumulate in the DNA, which can provoke uncontrolled cancer division.

The researchers of the work suggested that sexual bias in the statistics of malignant diseases is somehow related to the p53 protein and its TP53 gene. Comparing mutations in 12 types of tumors, the researchers found that, firstly, mutations in TP53 do occur more often in men than in women. Among cancer mutations, there are those that are more common in men and those that are more common in women; apparently, mutations in TP53 are predominantly among the male ones.

But that's not all. The p53 protein and its gene work in tandem with other proteins and genes that affect TP53 and p53 activity. And if something happens to partner genes, then p53 will work differently, even if there are no mutations in it itself. And now, as it turned out, on the X-chromosome, there is a whole group of genes that affect the "guardian of the genome." And thirdly, as stated in an article in Nature Communications, in women, mutated X-chromosomal genes that affect p53 are often simply turned off, and therefore cannot badly affect p53. In men, such genes continue to work after mutations, confusing p53, which again is fraught with malignant degeneration of cells. Since women have two X chromosomes, it can be assumed that copies of the desired genes may work on another chromosome, where they do not deteriorate from mutations. However, what specific mechanisms help the cells of the female body to turn off dangerous genes remains to be seen.

In the meantime, we can only argue that the bias in the statistics of malignant tumors between men and women is associated with the famous p53 protein, and this must be taken into account if we want to learn how to assess in advance the likelihood of the risk of such diseases.