Relationship Between Male Pattern Baldness and the Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer: An Analysis of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

February 2015 in “ Journal of Clinical Oncology ”

Cindy Ke Zhou, Ruth M. Pfeiffer, Sean D. Cleary, Heather J. Hoffman, Paul H. Levine, Lisa W. Chu, Ann W. Hsing, Michael B. Cook

male pattern baldness frontal baldness vertex baldness aggressive prostate cancer pathophysiologic mechanisms baldness hair loss

TLDR Men with baldness at the front and top of their head at age 45 may have a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

The study from 2015 within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial cohort, which included 39,070 men, found that frontal plus moderate vertex baldness at age 45 was significantly associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.39 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.80). Other patterns of baldness were not significantly associated with aggressive prostate cancer, nor with overall or nonaggressive prostate cancer. The study suggests that there may be shared pathophysiologic mechanisms between male pattern baldness and aggressive prostate cancer, although it also acknowledges limitations such as the reliability of baldness classification and the retrospective nature of baldness recall by participants.

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research Androgenetic Alopecia and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

34 citations , June 2013 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”

Vertex pattern hair loss linked to higher prostate cancer risk.

research Relationship of Early-Onset Baldness to Prostate Cancer in African-American Men

21 citations , April 2013 in “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention”

Early-onset baldness is linked to a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer in African-American men, especially before age 60.

research Androgenetic Alopecia at Various Ages and Prostate Cancer Risk in an Equal-Access Multiethnic Case-Control Series of Veterans

12 citations , March 2013 in “Cancer Causes & Control”

Early balding, especially frontal, increases prostate cancer risk; more research needed.

research Age-Dependent Associations Between Androgenetic Alopecia and Prostate Cancer Risk

17 citations , February 2013 in “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention”

Early balding at 40 increases prostate cancer risk.

research Male Pattern Baldness and the Risk of Prostate Cancer

38 citations , August 2011 in “Annals of Oncology”

Men who experienced baldness at age 20 may have double the risk of getting prostate cancer.

research Androgenic Alopecia Is Not Useful as an Indicator of Men at High Risk of Prostate Cancer

28 citations , December 2010 in “European Journal of Cancer”

Baldness at age 40 is not linked to a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

research Androgenetic Alopecia and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Men and Women: A Comparative Study

110 citations , September 2010 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”

Hair loss linked to higher heart disease risk in both men and women.

research Male Pattern Baldness and Prostate Cancer Risk in a Population-Based Case-Control Study

29 citations , April 2010 in “Cancer epidemiology”

Men who start losing hair at age 30 may have a lower risk of prostate cancer.

research Androgens and Hair Loss: An In-Depth Analysis of Androgenetic Alopecia

52 citations , June 2009 in “Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity”

The document concludes that hair transplantation and gene therapy may be important for future hair loss treatment.

research Genome-Wide Scan and Fine-Mapping Linkage Study of Androgenetic Alopecia Reveals a Locus on Chromosome 3q26

62 citations , March 2008 in “American Journal of Human Genetics”

Hair loss gene found on chromosome 3q26.

research Baldness And The Androgen Receptor: The AR Polyglycine Repeat Polymorphism Does Not Confer Susceptibility To Androgenetic Alopecia

60 citations , January 2007 in “Human Genetics”

AR polyglycine repeat doesn't cause baldness.

research Changes in Hair Weight in Men with Androgenetic Alopecia After Treatment with Finasteride (1 mg Daily): Three- and Four-Year Results

66 citations , July 2006 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”

Finasteride increases hair weight and count in men with hair loss, with best results after four years.

research Genetic Variation in the Human Androgen Receptor Gene Is the Major Determinant of Common Early-Onset Androgenetic Alopecia

195 citations , July 2005 in “American Journal of Human Genetics”

Genetic variation in the androgen receptor gene mainly causes early-onset hair loss, with maternal inheritance playing a key role.

research Validity of Self-Reported Male Balding Patterns in Epidemiological Studies

32 citations , December 2004 in “BMC Public Health”

Men can report their own balding patterns well enough for large health studies.

research Vertex Balding, Plasma Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1, and Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3

26 citations , June 2000 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”

Men with balding at age 45 had higher IGF-1 and lower IGFBP-3, suggesting these factors might be important in male pattern baldness.

research Cultured dermal papilla cells from androgen-dependent human hair follicles (e.g. beard) contain more androgen receptors than those from non-balding areas of scalp

124 citations , April 1992 in “Journal of Endocrinology/Journal of endocrinology”

Beard hair follicles have more androgen receptors than non-balding scalp hair follicles.

research Increased Androgen Binding Capacity in Sebaceous Glands in Scalp of Male-pattern Baldness

51 citations , January 1989 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology”

Men with male-pattern baldness have more androgen receptors in their scalp's oil glands, which may contribute to hair loss.