Baldness and testicular cancer: the EPSAM case–control study

Abstract

SUMMARYThe etiology of testicular cancer is largely unexplained. Research has mainly focused on prenatal exposures, especially to sex hormones, while less attention has been paid to exposures that may act also postnatally. As baldness has been previously associated with testicular cancer risk we focused on baldness and body hairiness, which are both associated with androgen activity. We used data of the Postnatal Exposures and Male Health (EPSAM) study, a case-control study on testicular cancer conducted in the Province of Turin, Italy, involving cases diagnosed between 1997 and 2008. Information was collected using mailed questionnaires. Analyses included 255 cases and 459 controls. We calculated ORs and 95% CIs to estimate testicular cancer risk among those who developed baldness and among those with body hairiness. We found an inverse association between testicular cancer and baldness (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46-0.98) and body hairiness (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.53-1.16), although the latter had wider CIs. The inverse association between baldness and testicular cancer is consistent with the results from previous studies. These results suggest that androgens activity may influence testicular cancer risk.

Postnatal risk factors for testicular cancer: The EPSAM case–control study

“…The EPSAM study is a population‐based case–control study on germ‐cell testicular cancer diagnosed between 1997 and 2008 among residents of the province of Turin, Italy. Full details of our study design have been described elsewhere . The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee and informed consent was obtained from each subject.…”

“…Full details of our study design have been described elsewhere. 7,10 The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee and informed consent was obtained from each subject.…”

“…Testicular cancer peaks at 30 years of age and evidence suggests that exposures acting in utero and in the perinatal life are likely to be important in its aetiology . However, postnatal factors, especially exposures acting during puberty, may also play a role in testicular cancer development . For example, the increased risk of testicular cancer associated with cryptorchidism seems to be much larger if cryptorchidism is not treated before puberty .…”

“…4,5 However, postnatal factors, especially exposures acting during puberty, may also play a role in testicular cancer development. 3,6,7 For example, the increased risk of testicular cancer associated with cryptorchidism seems to be much larger if cryptorchidism is not treated before puberty. 8 Puberty, starting in males at an average age of 13 years, is a period of high-cellular replication, and spermatogonia, which remain inactive during childhood, start undergoing meiosis to form spermatocytes under the stimulation of sex hormones.…”

Subfertility and Risk of Testicular Cancer in the EPSAM Case-Control Study

“…Full details of the EPSAM study design have been described in previous publications [46, 47]. Anonymized data on fertility status and genotyping of cases and controls are available upon request to qualified researchers for the purpose of academic, non-commercial research.…”