If
you have a bald head, prostate cancer may
be in your future.
That’s because men with a specific pattern of hair
loss at age 45 may be more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer
in their later years, according to a new research study published on Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
For an average of three years,
the researchers tracked prostate-cancer cases among 39,070 men over the
age of 55 who had not been previously diagnosed with the disease.
Over
the course of the study, 1,138 men developed prostate cancer, and about
half of those cases involved what were considered aggressive, or
fast-growing, tumors.
They also asked the men to indicate their level of
hair loss at age 45 and the responses uncovered quite an usual, interesting trend.
Guys who were balding in the
front and, to a moderate degree, on the crown of their head at age 45
faced a 39 percent higher risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer
over the course of the study, compared with men who’d had all of their
hair intact at 45.
About 10 percent of the study participants reported
this particular pattern of hair loss, shown below.
Past research has revealed a similar association.
In a 2002 study from Australia,
for example, men in their 60s with “vertex” balding hair loss on the
crown of their head were nearly three times more likely to develop
severe prostate cancer than their nonbalding peers.
Those with balding
in the front faced an 80 percent higher risk of a prostate-cancer
diagnosis.
The likely link between these
conditions can be summed up with two words: male hormones.
“Male
hormones, or androgens, are associated with male pattern baldness, as
well as prostate organ development and maturation and prostate cancer
progression,” lead study author Michael Cook told Yahoo Health.
Two male
hormones in particular testosterone and
its metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are thought to play a
potentially significant role in both balding and prostate-tumor growth,
he said.
In several past studies,
researchers have tried to assess the testosterone-cancer connection by
taking a single blood sample at one time point, which posed a problem.
“We don’t know whether that blood sample is representative of lifetime
exposure to these male hormones,” Cook said.
That’s why he decided to study
male pattern baldness, which may act “as a measure of cumulative
exposure to androgens, because male pattern baldness is known to be
associated with higher levels of male hormones,” he said.
One can just
look at the medication designed to target male hair loss as proof: Finasteride, found in Propecia, works by reducing the conversion of testosterone to more potent DHT, explained Cook.
So should men going bald in the
front and on top hightail it to their doctor? Not necessarily. Although
male pattern baldness may eventually be considered a risk factor for
prostate cancer or even a diagnostic aid the science isn’t solid
enough yet to draw any firm conclusions.
"We need to replicate these
results in a strong study, maybe with multiple time points for male
pattern baldness and at multiple ages," Cook noted.
"If this association
is replicated by high-quality studies and if we understand the
mechanism that underlies this then in the future, it’s possible that
male pattern baldness may contribute a small amount of information in
predicting prostate cancer risk.
" It may also eventually serve as a
visual cue to prompt doctors to talk to male patients about
prostate-cancer screening, he added.
For now, all men whether
they’re balding or have a full head of hair should focus on the basic
healthy habits that reduce the risk of diseases like prostate cancer:
eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding or reducing
tobacco and alcohol intake.
“At the moment,” assured Cook, “men with any
degree of male pattern baldness, at any age, do not need to be
additionally concerned about their individual risk of prostate cancer.”
Culled from Yahoo Health news
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