Prostate Cancer Health Center

Is Early Balding Linked to Prostate Cancer?

Debate About Prostate Cancer Screening

In an effort to better understand the DHT connection, Yassa and colleagues from France’s European Georges Pompidou Hospital asked close to 400 prostate cancer patients and around 400 men without the disease about their balding history.

A total of 37 participants with a history of prostate cancer  and 14 participants without reported some degree of balding by the age of 20, including receding hairline and/or thinning of the hair on top of the head.

Yassa says the research could help identify men who might benefit from prostate cancer screening.

“There is a huge debate right now about who should be screened and whether screening is appropriate for the general population,” he says, adding that men with early balding may be good candidates for screening.

But Brooks is not convinced.

“There is really nothing here that should alter the recommendation of the American Cancer Society and other groups that men should learn all they can about the potential risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening and then make a decision about whether or not to be screened,” he says.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, agrees.

“We have not moved beyond speculation at this point,” he tells WebMD. “There is no reason for bald men to obsess about this.”