{"id":12129,"date":"2017-04-24T07:59:13","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T07:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revoscience.com\/en\/?p=12129"},"modified":"2017-04-24T08:39:58","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T08:39:58","slug":"cold-cap-prevents-hair-loss-chemotherapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/cold-cap-prevents-hair-loss-chemotherapy\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Cold Cap’ Prevents Hair Loss During Chemotherapy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Up until recently, hair loss was inevitable for those undergoing chemotherapy. The side effect is particularly troubling for the many patients who feel being bald strips them of their dignity and identity, and is a clear marker to the outside world that they are sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DigniCap Scalp Cooling System\u2014a cold, temperature regulated cap that a patient can wear during chemotherapy to reduce the chance of hair loss\u2014offers a potential solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe really value our privacy here in the United States,\u201d said Melissa Bourestom, vice president of marketing at Dignitana, the company that created the DigniCap Scalp Cooling System, in an interview with Drug Discovery & Development.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cWe don\u2019t want people to just see us and say, she doesn\u2019t have any hair, therefor something is wrong with her; she must have cancer. A lot of patients will tell us that it is huge for them to be looked at as themselves and not as a cancer patient.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The basic concept of cooling the scalp to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy is not new; healthcare providers have been using cold packs or ice for this purpose for years, said Bourestom. It was a nurse in Sweden who wanted to find a more controlled and clinical way to give the treatment that first envisioned the DigniCap system. It was launched in Sweden in 2007 and received U.S. FDA clearance for women with breast cancer in December 2015. Today it is available worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

How it works<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The DigniCap system consists of a snug-fitting silicone cooling cap connected to a cooling and control unit which is worn before, during, and between 90 to 120 minutes after chemotherapy is given. An outer insulating cap of neoprene is also applied over the silicone cap to ensure the cold cannot escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The DigniCap Scalp Cooling System. Photo provided by DigniCap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The coolant circulates through channels in the cap and sensors in the cap monitor scalp temperature, allowing the system to automatically regulate cooling temperature throughout the treatment. A sensor in the cap ensures that the temperature never drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The machines don\u2019t require any intervention from the patient or healthcare provider and can cool two patients at the same time on either side of the machine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The technique relies on basis basal constriction, explained Dr. Hope Rugo, M.D. the lead investigator on the clinical trial that led to the FDA clearance of DigniCap, in an interview with Drug Discovery & Development.<\/em> \u201cThe real reason why scalp cooling is effective is because the cooling really reduces the metabolism of the hair follicle cells,\u201d said Rugo, professor of Medicine and director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. \u201cThe hair follicle is squeezed off where it exits from the follicle when chemotherapy is causing hair loss, and they get really, really thin at that spot because the follicle is busy speeding up its metabolism to try and make do with the toxin. In this case, we reduce that effect by cooling the cells.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The study that led to the FDA clearance looked at 117 breast cancer patients with either stage I or stage II breast cancer who\u00a0underwent at least four cycles of specific chemotherapy regimens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the patients that used the DigniCap Scalp Cooling System in the study, 66.3 percent\u00a0lost less than half of their hair when followed for a month after the last chemotherapy cycle. In comparison, 100 percent\u00a0of women in the control group who did not use the system lost more than half of their hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Side effects were found to be minimal with the treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that the treatment was very tolerable. The side effects were exactly what you would expect if you put a really cold cap on your head; a headache, a sense of being cold,\u201d said Rugo. \u201cWe allow patients to ask for pain medication right before their start to deal with that initial cooling or the \u2018brain freeze\u2019 that they feel at the start. Then they adjust to the cold, and it doesn\u2019t bother them so much anymore\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Obstacles to furthering its use<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a significant interest in the DigniCap system, but it has been slow to take off in the U.S., said Bourestom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe get emails almost every day from patients that say, \u2018I\u2019m starting chemotherapy next week, I want to use it, send it to my doctor,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cUnfortunately because it is medical equipment it is not quite that easy. But we are working to get it out there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The system is currently available in 67 centers across 19 states, with new centers being added often. Expense is a factor for some patients, as the system costs between $1,500-$3,000 to use depending on a patient\u2019s chemotherapy regimen and needs. At this time, most insurance companies are not covering it, but some persistent patients have had success gaining reimbursement, said Bourestom. DigniCap is working with insurance companies to try to improve coverage rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very important goal for the future to try and get insurance coverage, or at least partial insurance coverage for scalp cooling so that it is not a technique that can only be used by people who can afford it,\u201d said Rugo.<\/span><\/p>\n

DigniCap has also partnered with philanthropic organization<\/span> Hair to Stay<\/a>, which raises money to help fund patients that are low income that want\u00a0to use scalp cooling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Future plans<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

At this time, the device is not cleared in the U.S. for patients with cancers other than breast cancer, and it is not cleared for men with breast cancer. However, patients all over the world with numerous types of cancers have had success using it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently DigniCap is talking with the FDA about the possibility of expanding FDA clearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are evaluating what the next steps of that will be,\u201d said Bourestom. \u201cWe are hoping to expand it to include all patients with solid state tumors that are treated with the same classes of drugs. This is something that patients really want.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Source: dddmag<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Up until recently, hair loss was inevitable for those undergoing chemotherapy. The side effect is particularly troubling for the many patients who feel being bald strips them of their dignity and identity, and is a clear marker to the outside world that they are sick. The DigniCap Scalp Cooling System\u2014a cold, temperature regulated cap that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,22,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine","category-other","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",800,933,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002-257x300.jpg",257,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002-768x896.jpg",750,875,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",750,875,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",800,933,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",800,933,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",686,800,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",489,570,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",600,700,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",514,600,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",420,490,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",309,360,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",56,65,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",640,746,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",82,96,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ddd1704_Large-Right-DigniCap\u2122-Cooling-Cap-Set-002.jpg",150,175,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Medicine<\/a> Other<\/a> Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}