ArticleCancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology2020
Baldness and Risk of Prostate Cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Article in Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Etiology of prostate cancer with the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion: A systematic review of risk factors.International journal of cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Androgenetic Alopecia and Risks of Overall and Aggressive Prostate Cancer: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cancers · 2025Review
- Linking African ancestral substructure to prostate cancer health disparities.Scientific reports · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundThe association between male pattern baldness and prostate cancer has been inconsistent. We prospectively investigated the association between baldness at age 45 and prostate cancer risk in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), focusing on clinical and molecular markers.
methodsBaldness was self-reported on the 1992 questionnaire using the modified Norwood-Hamilton scale prior to diagnosis. We estimated HRs between baldness and prostate cancer risk among 36,760 men, with follow-up through 2014. We also investigated whether baldness was associated with prostate cancer defined by tumor protein expression of androgen receptor and the presence of the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion.
resultsDuring 22 years, 5,157 prostate cancer cases were identified. Fifty-six percent of the men had either frontal or vertex baldness. No significant associations were found between baldness and prostate cancer risk. Among men younger than 60 years, there was a statistically significant association between frontal and severe vertex baldness and overall prostate cancer (HR: 1.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.23-2.48). Baldness was not significantly associated with expression of molecular subtypes defined by AR and TMPRSS2:ERG IHC of prostate tumors.
conclusionsThis study showed no association between baldness at age 45 and prostate cancer risk, overall or for clinical or molecular markers. The association between baldness and overall prostate cancer among younger men is intriguing, but caution is warranted when interpreting this finding. IMPACT: The null findings from this large cohort study, together with previous literature's inconclusive findings across baldness patterns, suggest that baldness is not a consistent biomarker for prostate cancer risk or progression.
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