Inhibiting Hair Loss During Chemotherapy

One of the most feared side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. One study reported that 8 percent of women actually consider refusing treatment because of it. Options to reduce hair loss include scalp-cooling caps, which keep chemo from destroying the hair follicles by constricting the blood vessels that surround them. However, besides being only about 50 percent effective, the caps are costly, extend treatment times and can cause headaches in some patients.

A new approach is now being studied that takes into consideration the roles of specific proteins and their relation to hair growth. During chemotherapy, a protein called p53 is activated, which helps to suppress the growth of rapidly dividing tumor cells. Unfortunately, because hair cells also divide rapidly, their growth is inhibited as well. But further investigation revealed the mechanism by which this occurs in the scalp – namely, that p53 blocks a hair-growth protein called WNT3a. So they decided to try injecting WNT3a into the skin of mice undergoing chemo. After five days, the treated areas showed no hair loss, while the untreated areas had gone bald.

The researchers are now looking at ways to adapt the treatment for human testing. In order to treat as many follicles as possible, one solution may be to inject the protein using an array of fine needles. It may also be able to be applied as a gel or cream.