The relationship between acne vulgaris and prostate cancer: A comprehensive survey study

Satıcı, Eda Gokalp; Diambu, Taofic Makaya; Bozlu, Murat; Tursen, Umit; Karabulut, Yasemin Yuyucu

doi:10.21608/zumj.2025.356738.3821

The relationship between acne vulgaris and prostate cancer: A comprehensive survey study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ derpartment of pathology, mersin university

² department of pathology, mersin university, medical faculty

³ department of urology, medical faculty, mersin university

⁴ Professor of Dermatology, Turkey

⁵ Department of pathology, school of medicine, mersin university, mersin Türkiye

10.21608/zumj.2025.356738.3821

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer and acne vulgaris are distinct conditions that share common developmental mechanisms. A potential relationship between them has been frequently cited in the literature. In light of this, our study aims to investigate the presence of acne vulgaris during adolescence in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer, along with other potentially related parameters, and to explore its correlation with clinicopathological data.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 432 patients presenting with symptoms of prostate cancer at Mersin University Hospital over the past five years. Mini-surveys were administered to assess the presence and severity of acne during adolescence, along with additional factors such as sleep disorder, physical activities, occupational exposures, and androgenetic alopesia. The collected data were analyzed by comparing them with various parameters including prostate cancer subtypes, perineural invasion, prostate-specific antigen levels, prognostic grades, and Gleason scores.

Results: The analysis revealed no significant association between acne vulgaris and prostate cancer. However, several other factors exhibited statistically significant correlations with different histologic subtypes of prostate cancer. Although the relationship between acne and prostate cancer remains inconclusive, our findings highlight the need for further in-depth prospective research.

Conclusion: Despite the absence of a strong link between acne vulgaris and prostate cancer, our study identified significant correlations with other investigated parameters. This emphasizes the importance of conducting more comprehensive prospective studies to clarify the potential relationship between acne vulgaris and prostate cancer risk.

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