Balding Men May Face a Higher Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer???

[t00ktheplunge]

As if going bald is not enough fun already, I came across this article on Yahoo.

 

It does make me wonder though, for those of you that are on Fin if it would actually help reduce the risk of Prostate Cancer.

 

Study Links Male Pattern Hair Loss (Androgenic Alopecia) to Prostate Cancer

Edited September 19, 2014 by Future_HT_Doc

[nervousguy]

As if going bald is not enough fun already, I came across this article on Yahoo.

 

It does make me wonder though, for those of you that are on Fin if it would actually help reduce the risk of Prostate Cancer.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/health/going-bald-you-may-face-a-higher-risk-of-aggressive-97660529407.html

 

I have actually heard that finasteride helps with enlarged prostates, but that it can increase the chances of prostate cancer. I have read all sorts of conflicting things about taking it.

 

I'm only 31 years old and I already have a prostate that is slightly enlarged. The doctor says that it isn't serious, but as I age, I need to monitor it with annual check ups. So, I'm hesitant on taking finasteride after looking at this article and others like it.

[hairweare]

Finasteride definitely shrinks the size of the prostate and rather than actually reduce the incidence of cancer may make it less likely to be diagnosed due to reduction of symptoms of an enlarged prostate and its effect on suppressing PSA. Nonetheless a recent large retrospective study of 19k pts. demonstrated that the mortality rate was no different between men who were on the drug or not. There is a large percentage of men who get diagnosed with prostate ca and receive treatment even though it was a cancer that if left untreated would not have been fatal.

Edited September 19, 2014 by hairweare

[gillenator]

There is no question that finasteride reduces the swelling of the prostrate gland. Some years ago, men who were taking Proscar for prostrate swelling were experiencing some new hair growth and thus the initiative for Propecia was birthed. The thought was to develop a cure for MPB however few men experienced any meaningful regrowth.

 

The clinical trials did prove it to be a good inhibitor however and through the trials a much lower daily dosage of 1 mg was established and later approved by the FDA. Today, there are a fair number of men cutting Proscar (5mg) into smaller pieces and saving money.

 

Generally speaking, it is advisable for men age 40 and older to have regular PSA tests done. But like hairweare stated, the symptoms of prostrate complications can be masked. It's crucial to inform your PCP if you are taking low dose finasteride for treating MPB.

 

And obviously a good idea to have an annual physical exam with complete blood work done...

[KO]

I have actually heard that finasteride helps with enlarged prostates, but that it can increase the chances of prostate cancer. I have read all sorts of conflicting things about taking it.

 

I'm only 31 years old and I already have a prostate that is slightly enlarged. The doctor says that it isn't serious, but as I age, I need to monitor it with annual check ups. So, I'm hesitant on taking finasteride after looking at this article and others like it.

 

The original indication of finasteride was to shrink the prostate, regarding increasing prostate cancer rates, it's interesting, it seems to increase some grades of cancer, while reducing others.

 

We know that fin inhibits differing variants of 5AR2 in different amounts, and in some very small cases, it can even promote 5AR2, so my theory is it is possible that it could explain why some cancers might be increased. Dutasteride also inhibits different variants of 5AR2 differently.

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Guys,

 

While the study doesn't mention anything about finasteride and prostate cancer, it does suggest a link between those with a certain Norwood pattern (approximately a NW IV) and an increased cancer risk. Specifically, it claims that men with NW level III-IV thinning are 40% more likely to experience "aggressive" prostate cancer by age 45 when compared to those without hair loss.

 

I discussed the study in a blog post here: Study Links Androgenic Alopecia and Prostate Cancer. It's definitely worth a read.