The Risk of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer With Long-Term, Low-Dose Finasteride Use in Adult Men With Nonscarring Alopecia: A Propensity-Matched Observational Study

This study evaluated the impact of long-term, low-dose finasteride use on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) in men with nonscarring alopecia. Using a retrospective cohort from the TriNetX Research Network, 6,741 patients per group for the 3-year cohort and 4,534 per group for the 5-year cohort were analyzed. Results showed that finasteride use was associated with a reduced risk of BPH and PCa diagnoses, with hazard ratios of 0.64 and 0.49 at 3 years, and 0.52 and 0.47 at 5 years, respectively. The study suggests that long-term low-dose finasteride may lower the incidence of BPH and PCa, though further prospective studies are needed to understand the mechanisms and long-term effects.