Science of Keeping Your Hair During Chemo

Scalp Cooling and the Science of Keeping Your Hair During Chemo

Hair loss during chemotherapy can be one of the most emotionally difficult side effects for patients, often affecting self-esteem and quality of life. A 2017 review titled “A Clinical and Biological Guide for Understanding Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia and Its Prevention” explores the science behind this common issue and outlines potential strategies to reduce its impact. Chemotherapy works by targeting rapidly dividing cells—but because hair follicle cells also divide quickly, they often become unintended casualties, leading to sudden and often significant hair loss.

The paper highlights scalp cooling as the most effective method currently available to help prevent chemotherapy-induced hair loss. By lowering the temperature of the scalp before and during chemotherapy infusions, blood flow to hair follicles is reduced, meaning less of the drug reaches those cells. Clinical trials show that scalp cooling can significantly reduce the extent of hair loss, particularly with taxane-based chemotherapy. Importantly, long-term studies suggest that this technique does not increase the risk of scalp metastases. While not effective for everyone or every chemotherapy regimen, scalp cooling offers many patients a meaningful option to maintain their sense of identity during cancer treatment.

 

Dunnill CJ, Al-Tameemi W, Collett A, Haslam IS, Georgopoulos NT. A Clinical and Biological Guide for Understanding Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia and Its Prevention. Oncologist. 2018 Jan;23(1):84-96. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2017-0263. Epub 2017 Sep 26. PMID: 28951499; PMCID: PMC5759815.

Dr. Gurdev Parmar, ND