THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTROLLED SCALP COOLING ON CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED ALOPECIA - A LITERATURE REVIEW

Dominik Ryszard Płaza; Jakub Chamier-Gliszczyński; Aleksandra Boba; Przemysław Siemiątkowski; Kacper  Zima; Zuzanna Pietruk; Agnieszka Kiedik; Julia Kozłowska; Sylwia Skraińska

doi:10.31435/ijitss.1(49).2026.4950

Authors

Dominik Ryszard Płaza Scientific Circle of Neurotraumatology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6251-3969
Jakub Chamier-Gliszczyński Scientific Circle of Neurotraumatology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland; Neurosurgery Department, 10th Military Research Hospital and PolyClinic SPZOZ, Bydgoszcz, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8971-9864
Aleksandra Boba Scientific Circle of Neurotraumatology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7074-5619
Przemysław Siemiątkowski 7th Navy Hospital in Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2120-6051
Kacper Zima Kościerzyna Specialist Hospital, Kościerzyna, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0679-6435
Zuzanna Pietruk Florian Ceynowa Specialist Hospital, Wejherowo, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1360-3248
Agnieszka Kiedik Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1507-8479
Julia Kozłowska Kościerzyna Specialist Hospital, Kościerzyna, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1814-4437
Sylwia Skraińska Kościerzyna Specialist Hospital, Kościerzyna, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7644-5340

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.1(49).2026.4950

Keywords:

Hair Loss, Scalp Cooling, Chemotherapy Side-Effects, Patient Quality of Life, Psychosocial Impact

Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) constantly remains one of the most noticeable and stress-inducing side-effects of cancer therapy, despite new strategies and advances in therapeutic approaches. Even though usually reversable, hair loss carries serious psychological and social consequences that affect patients’ comfort, social confidence and self-image, as well as adherence to oncological treatment. This review considers pathophysiological processes connected to CIA, focusing especially on anagen effluvium caused by cytotoxic nature of chemotherapeutic agents affecting proliferating hair follicle cells and underlines individual adaptation and susceptibility. Attention is focused particularly on controlled, mechanized scalp cooling method as an additional preventative intervention. Existing evidence from current studies clearly demonstrates that scalp cooling reduces the incidence and severity of CIA significantly, especially when it comes to taxane-based therapeutic regimens, with a range of 50% to 70% of hair preservation. In other types of therapies, like anthracycline-based, scalp cooling effectiveness is more limited but still shows meaningful reduction in severity and later onset of alopecia. Scalp cooling effectiveness reaches further than clinical outcomes. It contributes to an improved life quality, maintenance of privacy and identity and more positive patient-reported data. This review also takes global disparities, safety and ethical issues under consideration. Overall, innovative supportive strategies in medicine, like scalp cooling, integrate biological efficacy and psychological and social benefits and further underscore the importance of patient-focused approach in contemporary medicine, including oncological care.

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