Supportive Oncodermatology: Addressing Dermatologic Adverse Events Associated with Oncologic Therapies
November 2018
in “
Oncology issues
”
TLDR Cancer survivors often experience worse skin problems from treatment than expected, and working with dermatologists could help improve their condition.
The document from 2018 discusses the field of supportive oncodermatology, which aims to manage skin-related side effects of cancer treatments. It notes that a majority of cancer survivors experienced worse skin toxicities than expected, with many believing that dermatologist referrals could have improved their condition. The article details common skin issues such as hand-foot skin reaction, nail changes, papulopustular eruptions, pruritus, secondary malignancies, new neoplasms, and chemotherapy-induced alopecia. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between oncologists and dermatologists to improve patient care and highlights the FDA clearance of scalp cooling devices like the DigniCap® Cooling System and Paxman Coolers® for preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The document also calls for more research into managing these dermatologic reactions and improving the quality of life for cancer survivors. Additionally, it references several studies on scalp cooling, including a qualitative study in Australia, the efficacy of the Penguin Cold Cap system, and the SCALP randomized clinical trial, which demonstrated the effectiveness of a scalp cooling device in reducing alopecia in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.
