The top authorities of U.S. cancer statistics will soon have to classify the sex of patients strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of transgender people, one of the nation’s most marginalized populations.
Scientists and advocates for trans rights say the change will make it much harder to understand cancer diagnoses and trends among the trans population. Certain studies have shown that transgender people are more likely to use tobacco products or less likely to receive routine cancer screenings — factors that could put them at higher risk of disease.
The change is a consequence of Trump administration policies recognizing only “male” and “female” sexes, according to cancer researchers.
Scientists said the change will affect all cancer registries, in every state and territory, because they receive federal funding. Starting in 2026, registries funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute will categorize cancer patients as male, female, or not stated/unknown. And federal health agencies will receive data only on cancer patients classified that way.
Registries currently specify whether a cancer patient’s sex is “male,” “female,” “other,” various options for “transsexual,” or that the patient’s sex is not stated or unknown.
President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order stating that the government would recognize only male and female sexes. Cancer registry officials said the federal government directed them …