Dr. Abraham on Prevention of Hair Loss for Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Jame Abraham, MD, director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, discusses a head cooling system that can be used to limit hair loss attributed to chemotherapy treatment for patients with breast cancer.

Jame Abraham, MD, director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, discusses a head cooling system that can be used to limit hair loss attributed to chemotherapy treatment for patients with breast cancer.

When it comes to chemotherapy, 80% of patients are concerned about losing hair, explains Abraham. The prospective cooling scalp study focuses on the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, which is a helmet device connected to a cooling machine.

In this randomized study, patients are connected to the cooling cap 30 minutes before chemotherapy, 30 minutes during, and then 90 minutes after treatment. This resulted in a 50% reduction in hair loss compared to the control arm, which resulted in 100% hair loss.