Aim: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is the most common side effect of systemic treatment in breast cancer patients. Scalp cooling gained worldwide acceptance in preventing or mitigating CIA in patients undergoing chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Paxman scalp cooling system (PSCS) in Indian breast cancer patients.
Materials and methods: This is a multi-centre, retrospective-observational study including patients registered from 1st March, 2019 to 30th April, 2021 undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer by using PSCS. The primary end-point was the incidence of CIA after completing cycles of chemotherapy.
Results: A total of 91 female patients were enrolled in the study, with a median age of 53 years (IQR: 44-62 years). The prevention of alopecia (grade 0 and grade I) was seen in 81%, while more than 50% hair loss (grade 2) was seen in 16.48% after completion of treatment. The univariate analysis results showed that CIA was significantly higher in patients who received anthracyclines (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.04-6.958; P = 0.041) and in patients with a post-infusion cooling time of >150 minutes (OR: 8.409; 95% CI: 2.295-30.787; P = 0.001). The incidence of grade 2 (>50% hair loss) alopecia was 81.3% in patients <6 weeks and was 18.8% at >6 weeks of start of chemotherapy (P < 0.0001). No adverse events were reported in 71.4% of patients, and the most common adverse event was headache (18.7%).
Conclusion: PSCS is an effective and well-tolerated treatment modality for preventing CIA among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Keywords: Anthracyclines; CIA; Paxman scalp cooling; breast cancer; post-infusion cooling time.
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