The Most Visible Aspect of Chemotherapy: Alopecia: Is Prevention Possible?

The review discussed chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) and various prevention methods, including scalp cooling and biological methods like 2% minoxidil. Scalp cooling reduced blood flow and metabolic rate in hair follicles, with a small risk of scalp metastasis (0.56% in a meta-analysis of 2,129 patients). Minoxidil reduced CIA duration in breast cancer patients, while other methods like steroid 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors had limited evidence. Oncology nurses played a crucial role in patient education and support. Despite various studies, no method was fully effective, but non-pharmacological methods significantly reduced CIA and improved patients' quality of life.