title: Prevention of alopecia in medical and interventional chemotherapy patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is one of the most distressing side effects of cancer treatment. Although there have been a number of investigated strategies to reduce this, there is no standard of care for treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This review aims to summarize the relevant evidence for the treatments available for chemotherapy-induced alopecia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search using PubMed and the MEDLINE subengine was completed. The terms "chemotherapy," "alopecia," "quality of life," and "strategies" were used, and articles from the last 10 years were considered. The pediatric population was not investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Physical therapies for alopecia prevention have shown some promise but range from insufficient to detrimental depending on the type of cancer. Cold caps may be more effective than tourniquets and may be associated with fewer metastatic events. Pharmacologic therapies, both immunomodulators and growth factors, have stood the test of several trials to date. In particular, cyclosporine has been shown either to prevent alopecia or promote hair growth during a chemotherapy regimen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the evidence is not yet overwhelming, it is becoming clear that a combination of mechanical and chemical interventions may help compensate for the downfalls of either therapy alone.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology and Dermatology and Cutaneous Science, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, NS adam.dmytriw@uhn.ca.
authors.forename: Adam A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Dmytriw
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology and Dermatology and Cutaneous Science, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, NS.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Morzycki
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology and Dermatology and Cutaneous Science, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, NS.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000505:Alopecia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012535:Scalp / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents