Dr. Abraham on Prevention of Hair Loss for Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Jame Abraham, MD, director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, discusses a head cooling system that can be used to limit hair loss attributed to chemotherapy treatment for patients with breast cancer.

When it comes to chemotherapy, 80% of patients are concerned about losing hair, explains Abraham. The prospective cooling scalp study focuses on the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, which is a helmet device connected to a cooling machine.

In this randomized study, patients are connected to the cooling cap 30 minutes before chemotherapy, 30 minutes during, and then 90 minutes after treatment. This resulted in a 50% reduction in hair loss compared to the control arm, which resulted in 100% hair loss.