Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia and Scalp cooling Methods: A review of literature

Bita  Eslami; Sadaf  Alipour; Shiller  Hessamiazar

doi:10.18502/bccr.v15i2.18736

Bita Eslami Breast Diseases Research Center (BDRC), Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sadaf Alipour Breast Diseases Research Center (BDRC), Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Shiller Hessamiazar Breast Diseases Research Center (BDRC), Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/bccr.v15i2.18736

Keywords: Cancer; Chemotherapy; Alopecia; Prevention

Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a well-known side effect of chemother- apy that is the most traumatic aspect of treatment for more than half of the pa - tients. Psychosocial stress, decreasing self-esteem, and adverse effects on sexual life are reported due to CIA. It is estimated that 60-85% of individuals who received chemotherapy treatment for cancer experienced some degree of CIA. To prevent CIA, different methods such as scalp cooling, scalp compression, and medical ther- apies have been introduced. Herein, we provide a review of scalp cooling methods, advantages and disadvantages, requirements, and related papers.