Oral Minoxidil for Late Alopecia in Cancer Survivors

August 2024 in “ Breast Cancer Research and Treatment ”

Alyce Mei-Shiuan Kuo, Rachel Reingold, Kwami F. Ketosugbo, Alexander Pan, Lukas Kraehenbuehl, Stephen W. Dusza, Devika Gajria, Diana Lake, Jacqueline Bromberg, Tiffany A. Traina, Monica Fornier, Ayca Gucalp, B D'Alessandro, Veronica Rotemberg, Megan Dauscher, Jerry Shapiro, Shari Goldfarb, Alina Markova, Mario E. Lacouture

oral minoxidil late alopecia chemotherapy endocrine therapy hair regrowth trichoscopic assessments hair shaft density Rogaine

TLDR Oral minoxidil effectively improves hair regrowth in cancer survivors with late alopecia.

The study investigated the impact of oral minoxidil on late alopecia in 216 female cancer survivors, mainly with breast cancer, who suffered hair loss from chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy. After a median of 105 days on oral minoxidil, 74% of participants showed hair regrowth improvement, as confirmed by standardized photography. In a subset of 42 patients, quantitative trichoscopic assessments indicated significant increases in hair shaft density in both frontal and occipital regions. The treatment was well tolerated, with no discontinuations due to adverse events, indicating that oral minoxidil may effectively enhance hair density in cancer survivors with late alopecia.

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Research cited in this study

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