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TIt has now been reported that the United Kingdom?s Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency published a warning in 2009 regarding the risk of males developing breast cancer after use of dutasteride or finasteride. In two separate studies the incidence of breast cancer in men was reported as up to 100 times greater than normal. While that is not a lot of cases (the normal incidence of breast cancer in men is 1 in 100,000) it is still of significance (1 in 1,000) if you are one of the men who develops breast cancer.

It would appear that further studies are warranted and will follow. At the least dermatologists will have to inform patients taking finasteride that there is a small but possibly significant risk of developing breast cancer because of the drug, and breast exams will have to be part of the follow-up of such patients.