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Men who suffer moderate baldness at both the front and crown of their heads at age 45 are 40 percent more likely to suffer aggressive prostate cancer later in life, according to a new study.

However, researchers found no significant link between other patterns of baldness and prostate cancer risk.

"Our study found an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer only in men with a very specific pattern of hair loss, baldness at the front and moderate hair-thinning on the crown of the head, at the age of 45.  But we saw no increased risk for any form of prostate cancer in men with other hair-loss patterns," said senior study author Michael B. Cook, PhD, an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, according to a news release. "While our data show a strong possibility for a link between the development of baldness and aggressive prostate cancer, it's too soon to apply these findings to patient care."

The latest study involved a group of 39,070 men from the U.S. PLCO Cancer Screening Trial who were between the ages of 55 and 74 at the beginning of the study.

Participants had to fill out questionnaires that asked to remember what their hair-loss patterns were at age 45.

Researchers found that 1,138 prostate cancer cases were diagnosed during follow-up, and 51 percent of them were aggressive. The study also revealed that the average participant got diagnosed at age 72. Researchers also found that those who had a combination of frontal and moderate crown were 40 percent more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer, compared to those who had no baldness.

"Previous research linking baldness and prostate cancer has been inconclusive, but this large study suggests a significant link between high risk prostate cancer and hair loss - and suggests that men with hair loss may need to be followed more closely.  More evidence is needed, however, before we can routinely consider baldness in prostate cancer screening recommendations," Dr. Charles Ryan, of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said in a news release.

The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.