Men who experience balding in their 20s may be at risk for developing prostate cancer.CNN (2/16, Falco) in its "The Chart" blog reports, "Men who start losing their hair at 20 may be twice as likely to get prostate cancer later in life," according to a study in the Annals of Oncology. The researchers studied "388 men with prostate cancer and 281 healthy men and asked how bald they were at age 20, 30 and 40." They found that when a "man's hair began to thin in his 30s or 40s, the risk for prostate cancer did not go up." But any "type of balding [at age 20] is a risk factor for prostate cancer," suggested lead author Dr. Michael Yassa of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal, Canada.
Bloomberg News (2/16, Von Schaper) adds that early hair loss was associated with prostate cancer risk, but not with "earlier onset of cancer or a more severe course of the disease," the study found. MedPage Today (2/15, Smith) pointed out that the study did not control for "other prostate cancer risk factors, 'such as African heritage or dietary differences,'" although the researchers said having a "family history of prostate cancer was comparable in cases and controls."
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