Tamoxifen-Induced Total Alopecia
June 2001
in “
Annals of Internal Medicine
”
TLDR Tamoxifen can cause total hair loss but its benefits outweigh this side effect.
A 53-year-old woman experienced total alopecia after 13 months of tamoxifen therapy for estrogen receptor-positive metastases, marking the fourth reported case of tamoxifen-induced hair loss. This was potentially due to tamoxifen's antiestrogen effects enhancing androgen action on hair follicles. Despite this side effect, tamoxifen's benefits and low toxicity profile suggested that hair loss should not influence clinical decisions. The document also discussed the need for further investigation into the immunologic mechanisms behind such reactions and emphasized the importance of informing patients and physicians about potential vaccine-related reactions. Additionally, it described a patient with inclusion-body myositis who improved with intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and a case of chemoresistant osseous lymphoma that responded dramatically to rituximab, resulting in durable remission.
