P5-20-08: Multicenter Results of Scalp Cooling To Prevent Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia in 1500 Breast Cancer Patients.

Abstract Background Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a frequent occurring side effect of cancer treatment that has high psychological impact on many patients and their relatives. CIA may be prevented by scalp cooling. Methods Breast cancer patients who received scalp cooling could participate in this registration study from 2006 and onwards. Nurses and patients completed questionnaires. Scalp cooling was performed using the Paxman PSC1 or PSC2 system and was considered satisfying when patients did not wear a wig or head cover. Logistic regression analyses will be used to examine determinants of the scalp cooling result, including age, type/length/thickness/chemical manipulation (dyeing, waving, colouring) of hair, type/dose of chemotherapy, cytostatic infusion time, post-infusion cooling time, dampening hair or use of conditioner before scalp cooling and previous treatment with chemotherapy. Results The use of scalp cooling increased from 4 hospitals in 2005 to 60 out of 100 Dutch hospitals in 2011. The registration comprised about 1500 scalp cooled breast cancer patients of whom 79% were treated in the adjuvant setting. Overall, patients’ satisfaction with the result of scalp cooling was 50%, but varied for different chemotherapy schemes and dosages from 8% in docetaxel 75 mg/m2, doxorubicin 50 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 (TAC) to 81% in paclitaxel 70–90 mg/m2. The results of the regression analyses will be presented at the conference. Discussion Scalp cooling is effective in most commonly used chemotherapy regimens for breast cancer patients. Therefore, scalp cooling should be offered more often. Efficacy depends on the type and dose of chemotherapy. Other factors influencing the result have never been studied in multivariate analyses before. Scalp cooling is ineffective in patients treated with a combination of a taxane and an anthracyclin. The frequent use of scalp cooling in the adjuvant setting indicates minimal fear for an increased incidence of scalp skin metastases after scalp cooling in breast cancer patients. Multicenter registration of results improves information for medical professionals and patients and will lead to more frequent use of scalp cooling and improvement of the method. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-20-08.