Cancer More Prevalent Among Gay Men, Study Finds

Hemera Technologies/Thinkstock(BOSTON) -- Gay men are nearly twice as likely to report being diagnosed with cancer when compared to heterosexual men, according to a new study released Monday.

Researchers at Boston University School of Public Health reviewed data from the California Health Interview survey carried out in 2001, 2003, and 2005.  They found that about 8 percent of the gay men surveyed had been diagnosed with cancer, while only about 5 percent of heterosexual men were.

The rates of cancer diagnoses among lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women, on the other hand, were similar.  However, when it came to cancer survivors, the researchers found that lesbian and bisexual women were twice as likely to report fair or poor health when compared to heterosexual women.

The study, which was published in the journal Cancer, sought to address the shortfall in cancer surveillance data, which omits information on sexual orientation, leaving little to be known about the disease in the lesbian, gay and bisexual populations.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio