Topical Diclofenac 3% Gel for Actinic Keratosis May Induce Terminal Hair in Male Androgenetic Alopecia: A Report of Three Cases

Recently topical 3% diclofenac is commonly used to treat actinic keratosis (AK). It is proposed that it may also have a potential effect on hair growth.

Three male patients were visited in the Dermatology department and received treatment with topical 3% diclofenac gel because of scalp AK. All patients also had concomitant androgenetic alopecia (AGA). During the follow-up visits, patients presented terminal hair growth on non-prior haired areas of the scalp. To the authors’ best knowledge, these are the first reported cases of hair growth due to topical diclofenac treatment.

AGA is a heritable, androgen-dependent process. Various hypotheses proposed to explain its causes. Authors hypothesized that the inhibition of the COX-2 shown by diclofenac might act over the perifollicular micro-inflammation and the prostaglandins misbalance observed in the AGA, leading to hair growth. This finding may open further research lines to develop new treatments for AGA.