A Case of Inflammatory Nonscarring Alopecia Associated With the Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Nilotinib
March 2013
in “
JAMA Dermatology
”
TLDR A cancer drug called nilotinib might cause hair loss due to inflammation around hair follicles.
The document described a 33-year-old female patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia who experienced widespread alopecia, affecting both scalp and body hair, shortly after beginning treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nilotinib. Biopsy results revealed perifollicular lymphocytic inflammation and signs of follicular damage, yet the hair density remained normal, indicating the alopecia was nonscarring. This case was the first to clinically and histologically document alopecia as a side effect of nilotinib. The findings pointed to nilotinib-induced perifollicular inflammation as a possible cause of persistent alopecia, underscoring the necessity for more research to understand this adverse reaction and its implications for the hair growth cycle and potential new treatments.
