Editing Chemotherapy (section)

=== Hair loss ===
[[File:Hair matting after few sessions of chemotherapy.jpg|alt=Chemotherapy adverse effects on hair|thumb|Hair matting after few sessions of chemotherapy]]
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 | image1 = Hank Green During His Cancer Diagnosis Announcement Video in 2023 (cropped).jpg
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 | caption1 = [[Hank Green]] just before the start of his chemotherapy treatment, with naturally straight hair.
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 | caption2 = Green approximately a year later, after concluding chemotherapy, with chemotherapy induced curls.
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[[Hair loss]] (alopecia) can be caused by chemotherapy that kills rapidly dividing cells; other medications may cause hair to thin.  These are most often temporary effects: hair usually starts to regrow a few weeks after the last treatment, but sometimes with a change in color, texture, thickness or style. Sometimes hair has a tendency to curl after regrowth, resulting in "chemo curls." Severe hair loss occurs most often with drugs such as [[doxorubicin]], [[daunorubicin]], [[paclitaxel]], [[docetaxel]], [[cyclophosphamide]], [[ifosfamide]] and [[etoposide]]. Permanent thinning or hair loss can result from some standard chemotherapy regimens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemotherapy-Related Hair Loss (Alopecia) in Children - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center |url=https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=90&contentid=P02732 |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.urmc.rochester.edu}}</ref>

Chemotherapy induced hair loss occurs by a non-androgenic mechanism, and can manifest as [[alopecia totalis]], [[telogen effluvium]], or less often [[alopecia areata]].<ref name="pmid17642856">{{cite journal | vauthors = Chadha V, Shenoi SD | title = Hair loss in cancer chemotherapeutic patients | journal = Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology | volume = 69 | issue = 2 | pages = 131–2 | year = 2003 | pmid = 17642856 }}</ref> It is usually associated with systemic treatment due to the high mitotic rate of hair follicles, and more reversible than androgenic hair loss,<ref name="pmid23187775">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lemieux J | title = Reducing chemotherapy-induced alopecia with scalp cooling | journal = Clinical Advances in Hematology & Oncology | volume = 10 | issue = 10 | pages = 681–2 | date = October 2012 | pmid = 23187775 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shapiro J, Price VH | title = Hair regrowth. Therapeutic agents | journal = Dermatologic Clinics | volume = 16 | issue = 2 | pages = 341–56 | date = April 1998 | pmid = 9589208 | doi = 10.1016/S0733-8635(05)70017-6 }}</ref> although permanent cases can occur.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Al-Mohanna H, Al-Khenaizan S | title = Permanent alopecia following cranial irradiation in a child | journal = [[Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery]] | volume = 14 | issue = 3 | pages = 141–3 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20487675 | doi = 10.2310/7750.2010.09014 | s2cid = 43583651 }}</ref> Chemotherapy induces hair loss in women more often than men.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Can G, Demir M, Erol O, Aydiner A | title = A comparison of men and women's experiences of chemotherapy-induced alopecia | journal = [[European Journal of Oncology Nursing]] | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | pages = 255–60 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 22901547 | doi = 10.1016/j.ejon.2012.06.003 }}</ref>

[[Hypothermia cap|Scalp cooling]] offers a means of preventing both permanent and temporary hair loss; however, concerns about this method have been raised.<ref name="pmid19341937">{{cite journal | vauthors = Trüeb RM | title = Chemotherapy-induced alopecia | journal = Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | pages = 11–4 | date = March 2009 | pmid = 19341937 | doi = 10.1016/j.sder.2008.12.001 | doi-broken-date = 28 January 2025 }}</ref><ref name="pmid22178150">{{cite journal | vauthors = Chon SY, Champion RW, Geddes ER, Rashid RM | title = Chemotherapy-induced alopecia | journal = Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology | volume = 67 | issue = 1 | pages = e37-47 | date = July 2012 | pmid = 22178150 | doi = 10.1016/j.jaad.2011.02.026 }}</ref>