Q: I have a 19-year-old son who is suffering from hair loss. I wonder if that will affect him in years to come if he starts taking it?

A: Finasteride was approved in 1992 as Proscar and as Propecia in 1997, so there is a lot of clinical data so far. Remember that over time, additional long-term data and clinical experience will be available. For example, we have 14 years of experience with the medication. By the time your son has been on it for 10 years, there will be 24 years of clinical experience with the medication, so judgments with more long-term information can be made at that time.

The one question that has come up is that a study showed that finasteride 5mg (Proscar) decreased the incidence of prostate cancer by 25%, but some of those in the study who developed prostate cancer had a higher grade of tumor. It is now felt that since finasteride shrinks the enlarged, but benign, tissue surrounding the prostate cancer, the malignant part in the center of the tumor was more easily reached with the needle biopsy, giving a false positive reading in the study. Supporting this explanation is the fact that those on Proscar did not have a more severe course from their cancer than those not taking the medication.

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