Link Between Severe Acne and Prostate Cancer

A higher risk of prostate cancer may be linked to severe acne.

New research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore finds men who took tetracycline -- an antibiotic used to treat severe acne -- for four years or longer were 70 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer over a 10-year period than men who had taken the drug, or had taken it for a shorter time.

But the study’s authors urge caution in interpreting their findings. They note the small number of participants who had used tetracycline for at least four years -- 0.5-percent of the 34,629 men in the study -- the indirect assessment of severe acne, and the fact that acne can have several causes.

The research looked at the link between severe acne and prostate cancer because recent studies found the acne-related bacterium Propionibacterium acnes in one third of prostate samples taken from men with prostate cancer. The tissue containing P. acnes was more likely to be inflamed. Inflammation is believed to be an important part of the development of prostate cancer.

Researchers say it is unlikely tetracycline itself would raise the risk of prostate cancer. They believe one possible explanation for the acne-prostate cancer link is that men who develop severe acne may be more likely to have stronger inflammatory immune responses when P. acnes goes into the prostate.

Causes of acne

The cause of acne is really not known. The process by which a pimple develops is highly intricate. While we do know that a pore collapses on itself and blocks sebum (oil) from escaping, we do not fully understand why this process takes place in one sebaceous gland versus another.

Adult acne and teen acne may be caused by hormones, diet, evolutionary biology, vitamin deficiency, stress, and more. Probably all or some of these factors are involved.