topical diclofenac 3% gel for actinic keratosis may induce terminal hair in male androgenetic alopecia: a report of three cases

introduction 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. case presentation 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. conclusions 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.