Propecia and Testicular Cancer?

35, male

I have read that Propecia can cause testicular cancer. Is this true? I was born with a congenital anamoly which increases my risk for it and don’t want to exacerbate that risk.

If my wife were to accidentally get pregnant while I was on Propecia, would it negatively affect a baby. I have read that a pregnant woman should not handle finasteride, but is there enough in the sperm to harm a child if a pregnancy occurred?

Can Propecia regrow hair at the hairline or only the crown?

What do you think about dutasteride?

Currently I take minoxidil+azelaic acid. I have no problems applying it regularly.

1. I have not heard or read that finasteride (Propecia) may cause testicular cancer. If possible, please send me the link (if it was on a website) or the publication (if it was in print) that you got this information from.
2. Most doctors ‘in the know’ and the drug company Merck believe that you can safely take Propecia while trying to conceive. For those who are still worried or their wives are preoccupied over risks, it is my standard practice to tell my patients not to take Propecia for the one week each month where the female partner is in their fertile time. Your hair will not fall out because you didn’t take it for one week. Some doctors (for medical legal reasons, not based upon any facts that I know of) tell their patients to use condoms during the first three months of pregnancy.
3. Propecia is unlikely to grow hair in the hairline, as it works mainly in the crown area (sometimes in the top between the ears). That being said, there are rare cases that it does works in the hairline to regrow hair.
4. Dutasteride is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss. It is a very potent medication and you should discuss using this medication with your doctor, only if Propecia does not work for you. If you are even remotely worried about using Propecia during your partner’s pregnancy, you should be very, very worried about dutasteride, which has a half life of 5 weeks.