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Early balding shown to indicate increased prostate cancer risk

Category: Prostate

Men who began going bald at a young may benefit from seeking PSA testing to check for prostate cancer. A new study published in the journal The Annals of Oncology found that men who start losing their hair in their 20s are significantly more likely to develop the disease.

A team of researchers from the Paris Descartes University in France surveyed a group of 388 men who were being treated for prostate cancer and compared the results to surveys taken from another 281 men who were cancer free.

The surveys showed that those who were being treated for prostate cancer were twice as likely to have started losing their hair when they were 20.

The researchers said that the reason for the link is in the hormones. Previous studies have noted a correlation between male pattern baldness and higher levels of androgen. This hormone is also known to increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer.

They added that men who began balding at a relatively young age should consider seeking PSA testing to assess their prostate cancer risk.