Adverse Hair Reactions to New Targeted Therapies for Cancer

The document from April 1, 2019, reviews the adverse hair reactions to new targeted cancer therapies, noting that while these treatments are less toxic to hair than traditional chemotherapy, they can still cause side effects such as alopecia, changes in hair color, shape, and growth. Specific therapies like EGFR inhibitors can lead to alopecia and pigmentation changes, while BRAF inhibitors also cause alopecia and morphological changes. MEK inhibitors may reduce the severity of BRAF inhibitor side effects when used in combination. High rates of alopecia have been observed with regorafenib (23.7%) and Hedgehog inhibitors like vismodegib (63%). VEGF/VEGFR inhibitors, such as sorafenib, are associated with alopecia and slow facial hair growth. The document also mentions that drugs like sunitinib can cause depigmentation in up to 14% of cases. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing these side effects for effective patient management and the need for further research to characterize these adverse reactions due to the novelty of the treatments.