For women with breast cancer who are receiving chemotherapy that is expected to result in significant alopecia, and who place a high value on avoiding chemotherapy-induced alopecia, we suggest the use of a scalp cooling device. Scalp hypothermia could also be a potential option for patients with other solid tumors who are receiving, although further studies are required to prove its utility in long term.
Two prospective studies have evaluated the efficacy of two different automated scalp cooling devices in women with early stage breast cancer: In an interim analysis of a randomized trial comparing the Paxman Scalp Cooling device and no scalp hypothermia for women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (one-third anthracycline-based, the remainder taxane-based), one-half of the hypothermia group had limited hair loss (to less than 50 percent, not requiring a wig) compared…
