According to various studies, the role of Y chromosome might be important in determining cancer outcomes. The results of two such studies have been published in the ‘Nature’ journal.

In one study, Ronald DePinho and colleagues from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, used a mouse model to investigate sex disparities in colorectal cancer that involved the KRAS oncogene. Similar to human findings, male mice had worse survival rates and more metastases. A gene on the Y chromosome that promotes cancer invasion and immune evasion is overexpressed, according to analysis. 

The second study by Dan Theodorescu and colleagues from Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, studied 300 male bladder cancer patients to determine how loss of Y chromosome would alter cancer outcomes. Tumours without the Y chromosome were more aggressive and had a muted T cell-mediated immune response. Y chromosome loss was found to be related with an improved response to anti-PD1 checkpoint blockade therapy in both mice and humans, suggesting a potential course of treatment for this subset of bladder malignancies.