Alopecia/Hair Loss in All Patients Treated with Trastuzumab and Paclitaxel: Myth or Reality?

    October 2017 in “ Annals of Oncology ”
    D. Loparco, M. Caloro, Laura Orlando, E.S. Lutrino, P. Schiavone, Chiara Caliolo, A. Quaranta, Palma Fedele, E. Mazzoni, Nicola Calvani, M. Cinefra, Pasqualinda Ferrara, L.L. Falcone, A. Lanzilotti, Valentina Capone, Deliu Cristina, Giuseppe Lotti, Alessandra Ricco, A. Morleo, Saverio Cinieri
    TLDR Most patients treated with trastuzumab and paclitaxel experience some hair loss, but it's usually not severe.
    The study investigated the incidence of alopecia/hair loss in 28 patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer treated with adjuvant Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab. Results showed that 93% of patients experienced some degree of hair loss, with 18.5% having less than 25% hair loss, 43% having 25-50% hair loss, and 33.3% having 50-75% hair loss. No patients experienced more than 75% hair loss. Despite the high incidence of hair loss, 68% of patients experienced non-severe hair loss that did not necessitate the use of wigs or head coverings. The study suggested further research into the use of Scalp Cooling devices to prevent hair loss in these patients.
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