Permanent alopecia following chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.
Alopecia can be a psychologically daunting prospect for people requiring cancer chemotherapy. Fortunately, most patients experience only temporary hair loss. We report the case of a 23-year-old woman with chronic myeloid leukaemia who developed permanent, near-total alopecia of her scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, axillary and public hair following busulphan and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy which was used as conditioning prior to allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The histology from a scalp biopsy revealed hair follicle destruction. Topical minoxidil failed to induce significant re-growth.
Tran
D
D
Department of Dermatology, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Australia.
Sinclair
R D
RD
Schwarer
A P
AP
Chow
C W
CW
D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy; D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / Q000009:adverse effects; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016465:Bone Marrow Purging / Q000009:adverse effects; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002066:Busulfan / Q000009:adverse effects; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D008914:Minoxidil / Q000627:therapeutic use
D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; D008914:Minoxidil; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002066:Busulfan