Pilot study: Dystrophic pathways in human hair follicles after chemotherapy

Alopecia is an almost inevitable side effect of chemotherapy treatment. In
cancer patients chemotherapy induced alopecia is experienced as one of the side
effects with de most impact. Several factors may contribute to the severity of
hair loss including dose, drug schedule, combinations with other cytotoxic
agents as well as hair care practices. Research shows scalp cooling is an
effective method to prevent chemotherapy induced hair loss. The exact working
mechanism is unclear. Therefore we do not know why scalp cooling is effective
in one patient but not in another.

The objective of this study is to explore molecular damage-response pathways
such as p53 expression in hair follicles after chemotherapy.

This is a multi-center observational study. The study will be conducted in the
outpatient chemotherapy clinic of the department of internal medicine of the
Medical Center Alkmaar. Patients will be asked to participate at the time of
their first contact with the oncology nurse to schedule their first
chemotherapy. After providing informed consent, hairs will be collected during
the first chemotherapy course.

The burden for patients consists of collecting hairs.