Balding during Middle Age can be Symptom of Prostate Cancer: Study

Balding during middle age could be a risk factor for prostate cancer in men, according to a study.

Losing your lustrous locks and a visible receding hairline can put off the ladies, but a new research warns that a pattern of balding can be an indicator of a deadly type of cancer. Experts from the National Institute of Health discovered a link between a certain type of balding and risk of aggressive prostate cancer. They believe hormones that cause loss of hair at age 45 are related to the development of the disease. The researchers examined over 39,000 men aged between 55 and 74 and asked them to pictorially describe their balding pattern at age 45.

Participants who reported noticing thinning of hair on the crown and front part of the scalp were 39 percent likely to get affected with serious form of prostate cancer. At the end of the study, almost 1,100 subjects were diagnosed with the disease and 600 of them suffered from aggressive form of prostate cancer.

 However, not every man who undergoes moderate hair loss in middle age is at risk of getting the disease that can be identified only in later stages, add the researchers. The findings serve as an effective disease screening method.  

"It is conceivable that, in the future, male pattern baldness may play a small role in estimating risk of prostate cancer and may contribute to discussions between doctors and patients about prostate cancer screening," said Michael Cook, study author and an epidemiologist in the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, reports the Daily Digest.

According to the data by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prostate cancer affects 128 in every 10,000 at-risk men. African American men have highest vulnerability compared to men from other ethnic backgrounds.

More information is available online in the journal of Clinical Oncology.