Baldness and Testicular Cancer: The EPSAM Case-Control Study

The EPSAM case-control study, which included 255 testicular cancer cases and 459 controls, found that baldness was inversely associated with the risk of testicular cancer, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.67 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.46-0.98. This suggests that individuals with baldness had a lower risk of developing the disease. The study also observed a non-significant inverse association between body hairiness and testicular cancer risk (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.53–1.16). The findings imply that androgen activity, which affects both baldness and body hairiness, might be protective against testicular cancer. The inverse association was particularly stronger for seminomas than non-seminomas. Despite limitations such as self-reported data and a low participation rate, the study supports the idea that postnatal androgen status could be linked to the risk of testicular cancer, warranting further investigation into the role of androgen sensitivity, levels, and metabolism in its etiology.