Androgenetic alopecia: Can topical anti-androgens cause cancer?

Question

have been using a topical anti-androgen to treat my androgenic alopecia and it has been great has completely halted miniaturization of my follicles and. I have experienced no term side effects whatsoever. However, I'm concerned that long-term use of this may eventually cause cancer. It's called RU58841. It went through human trial but was shelved when drug companies discovered its difficult marketability due to its half-life. Can you please advise?

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

There aren't studies linking these to cancer.  I suggest seeing a hair loss expert now to evaluate and go over your condition and test results and provide you information about your best treatment options. There are great non-invasive options like prp/progesterone and/or hair transplantation. See an expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

We don't have any good studies to suggest there is a cancer risk. Oral anti-androgens do not appear to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Those longitudinal studies of course are still ongoing. Oral anti-androgens such as finasteride appeared to reduce the overall risk of prostate cancer in men. To date, we don't have any good evidence to suggest that oral antiandrogens actually increase cancer risk beyond baseline in the population. With this data we can say that there's no good evidence to suggest that topical anti-androgens would have any different cancer risk profile. RU5581 was renamed by Proskelia. It is an androgen receptor blocker.  Clinical trials were done  about 15 years ago. A decision was made to the best of my knowledge by the company not to pursue further development for the purposes of public sale and marketing. The drug is currently for research purposes only.

Androgenetic alopecia: Can topical anti-androgens cause cancer?

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Androgenetic alopecia: Can topical anti-androgens cause cancer?

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