Baldness, Acne, and Testicular Germ Cell Tumors

The study, which included 187 cases of testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) and 148 controls, found that men with TGCT were significantly less likely to report hair loss (odds ratio [OR]: 0.6) and severe acne (OR: 0.5), suggesting an inverse relationship between these conditions and TGCT. The risk of TGCT decreased with the amount of hair loss, age at onset, and rate of loss, especially for non-seminoma TGCT. Height was positively associated with TGCT risk (p-trend = 0.02), but no association was found with puberty onset markers or body mass index (BMI). The findings imply that higher androgen levels during adolescence may reduce TGCT risk, and the study calls for further research into androgen-related mechanisms. The study's limitations include reliance on self-reported data and a limited sample size for some TGCT subtypes.