Sex and Gender as Biological Variables in Research
12 March 2026
Sex (biological attributes) and gender (sociocultural factors) can influence many aspects of health, including how our bodies function and our risks of developing or dying from various diseases, including cancer.
Associate Professor Melanie Eckersley-Maslin, Chair of the Diversity in Research Committee at Peter Mac, said there is mounting evidence underlining how sex and gender can affect cancer incidence as well as the treatment response, clinical outcomes and experience of patients.
“For example, overall, males have a higher incidence rate of non-reproductive cancers, and nearly twice the mortality rate compared to females,” she said.
“In contrast, females are more likely to experience toxicities and other adverse side effects from immunotherapy, targeted therapy and chemotherapy.
“This is why we have created guidelines to help Peter Mac researchers incorporate sex and gender as biological variables in all our health and biomedical research.”
Professor Ricky Johnstone, Executive Director of Cancer Research said the new guidelines will help to drive even better research outcomes.
“We need to ensure our research remains of the highest quality, and research findings are rigorous, reproducible and appropriately translated to the individuals our research aims to support,” he said.
“This is why it is essential that we appropriately consider including and reporting on sex and gender as biological variables across the research spectrum.”
Recently, the NHMRC and MRFF made it a requirement for all research funded through their schemes to meet this criterion.
Associate Professor Eckersley-Maslin said, “We aim to ensure that health and medical research produces an evidence base that is relevant to all people in Australia.
“We know that the gender of an individual also affects their cancer risk, as usage and/or exposure to the largest cancer risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, obesity and infections) differs substantially between people of different genders, independently of their biological sex.
“The guidelines have been developed as a resource for researchers at Peter Mac on how best to consider sex and gender as biological variables in their research design, execution and reporting.”