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Removing barriers to address sex differences in anticancer drug toxicity

Despite the compelling evidence for greater toxicity in female patients, sex-specific anticancer treatment strategies are missing. Increased awareness of sex differences at all stages of drug development by researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, funding institutions and regulatory agencies is needed to accurately implement precision oncology.

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Fig. 1: Barriers and solutions for sex-specific anticancer drug dosing.

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Correspondence to Berna C. Özdemir.

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The author declares receiving honoraria paid to her institution for lectures and advisory boards from BMS, MSD, Merck, Ipsen, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, Janssen and Sanofi.

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Özdemir, B.C. Removing barriers to address sex differences in anticancer drug toxicity. Nat Rev Cancer 24, 161–162 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-023-00651-w

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