A specific pattern of male baldness has been linked with an increased likelihood of developing aggressive prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men, behind skin cancer. It’s estimated that by the end of 2014, approximately 233,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed.

Senior study author Michael B. Cook, PhD, an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, and colleagues looked at the relationship between male pattern baldness and prostate cancer risk in 39,070 American men. The men completed a questionnaire that included questions asking them to remember what their hair-loss patterns were like at age 45.

Upon follow-up, there were 1,138 prostate cancer diagnoses, more than half of which were aggressive forms. Those who had a specific balding pattern – at the front and crown – had a 40 percent higher chance of developing aggressive prostate cancer in comparison to those without any baldness.

“Our study found an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer only in men with a very specific pattern of hair loss, baldness at the front and moderate hair-thinning on the crown of the head, at the age of 45. But we saw no increased risk for any form of prostate cancer in men with other hair-loss patterns. While our data show a strong possibility for a link between the development of baldness and aggressive prostate cancer, it’s too soon to apply these findings to patient care,” said Cook in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.