Baldness linked to prostate cancer risk in black men

Early-onset baldness in African-American men may be linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer, results of a recent study indicate.

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, reviewed the medical history of 537 African-American men, 219 controls and 318 patients with prostate cancer. Baldness was associated with a greater risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 1.69; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.05-2.74), according to the study abstract.

Frontal baldness was associated with high-stage and high-grade tumors (OR=2.61; 95 percent CI, 1.10-6.18; OR=2.20; 95 percent CI, 1.05-4.61, respectively). For men who were diagnosed younger than age 60, frontal baldness was associated with high stage (OR=6.51, 95 percent CI, 2.11-20.06) and high grade (OR=4.23; 95 percent CI, 1.47-12.14). Investigators also noted a suggestion of an interaction among smoking, median age and any baldness (P=0.02).

“African-American men present with unique risk factors including baldness patterns that may contribute to prostate cancer disparities,” study authors noted.

The findings were published online March 26 in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.