title: Permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Reversible alopecia following chemotherapy is well recognized and typically not evaluated by dermatologists. However, there are an increasing number of reports of permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia, typically following high-dose chemotherapy and subsequent bone marrow transplantation. We describe an unusual case of permanent alopecia in a patient who received adjuvant chemotherapy for breast carcinoma, and not a conditioning regimen before bone marrow transplantation. A unique histologic finding of replacement of anagen hair follicles by linear columns of basaloid epithelium is reported. We review the clinical and histologic findings of permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia and speculate on its pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Dermatopathology Section, Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. bentallon@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tallon
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Lynne J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Goldberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000505:Alopecia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D044584:Carcinoma, Ductal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans