In novel study researchers revealed that men who start to bald in twenties have more than twice at risk of developing prostate cancer in their later lives. The connection could help to discover those who are most in danger of developing the condition.
The most common form of cancer among men is prostate cancer globally. The new link will enable researchers to target those at risk for screening. The cause of baldness is DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), which is a chemical generated by the male hormone testosterone.
Several studies have also connected testosterone levels to tumour growth. But the French study is the first that suggest, going bald early is a bad sign, reported the study published in the journal Annals of Oncology. The researchers conducted a study that included three hundred and eight-eight prostate cancer patients and two hundred and eighty healthy participants.
It was found that those with the disease were more than double as prone to have started going bald when they were in their twenties. However, those who lost their hair later when they were in their thirties or forties, there was no disparity in their risk of prostate cancer in comparison to the control group.
Up till now there has been contradictory substantiation about the connection between hair loss and prostate cancer. Balding at twenty may be one of these effortlessly identifiable risk factors and more work needs to be done now to confirm this, stated Prof Philippe Giraud from Paris Descartes University.
According to Dr Kate Holmes from the Prostate Cancer Charity, many other aspects like diet and lifestyle, also affected the risk of prostate cancer.