Present Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia and Research in Future

CIA (Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia) is a common side effect seen during cancer treatment and a distressing symptom in many types of cancer patients. Patients exposed with alopecia during cancer treatment were accompanied by social influences and further quality of life. Although hair regrows in 3-6 months after chemotherapy, the regrown hair has changes in color, structure, texture etc. In the United States, chemotherapeutic patients had alopecia in varying degrees, where woman patients considered CIA as the most severe trauma, and even refused proper chemotherapy or have chosen an alternative therapy. Furthermore, the reported conditions of permanent CIA have been increasing. The CIA measures are mainly assessed using NCI-CTCAE, CTC, WHO, and GPA. Etiologically, CIA might be caused by therapeutic agents, genes and hormones. Diagnosis includes CST (Cross-Section Trichometry), Trichoscopy and OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography). Currently, the mainly reported used prevention of CIA is scalp cooling, and FDA has classified the scalp cooling system into class II (special controls) to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device. Scalp cooling is influenced by temperature, therapeutic agents, time and physiological factors. Besides physical interventions, several novel methods have been reported in animal models recently including drug-specific antibodies, hair growth cycle modifiers, cytokines, growth factors, antioxidants, cell cycle/proliferation modifiers or inhibitors of apoptosis, LLLT (Low-Level Laser Therapy), many drug preventions being under preclinical research. Thus, this review explores the current clinical treatment and future researches.