What’s Next? The Future of Scalp Cooling Trials and Research

"We need more peer to peer sharing through conferences and grand rounds. We need to look at research into increasing efficacy in under-served populations, different head shapes, and anthracyclines."

Richard Paxman sits down with oncology thought leaders and renowned clinical trial experts, to review scalp cooling trial data and results from the past decade, and consider what needs to be looked at next to improve efficacy within under-served populations. 

The group argue that scalp cooling tolerability and efficacy is well established and now is the time to look at more specific determinants of outcome, and push for individuals to identify the gaps that need to be addressed and carry out the trials to address them. 

Bullet points:

• Many areas require further investigation to ensure that scalp cooling can be proven to be effective for more diverse populations, and protocols can be optimized to ensure the findings can be put into practice in clinic 
• Lab based research to understand chemotherapy and the impact of scalp cooling at a cellular level is the key to unlocking more efficacious treatment, especially in treatment scenarios which are more challenging

Shownotes:

• Visit The Scalp Cooling Study Library.
• Nangia J, et al. Effect of a Scalp Cooling Device on Alopecia in Women Undergoing Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: The SCALP Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2017 Feb 14;317(6):596-605.
• Dunnill C, et al. Cooling-mediated protection from chemotherapy drug-induced cytotoxicity in human keratinocytes by inhibition of cellular drug uptake. PLoS One. 2020 Oct 15;15(10):e0240454.
• Bajpai J, et al. “Randomised controlled trial of scalp cooling for the prevention of chemotherapy induced alopecia”. Breast. 2020 Feb;49:187-193.
• Dilawari A, et al. Does Scalp Cooling Have the Same Efficacy in Black Patients Receiving Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer? Oncologist. 2021 Apr;26(4):292-e548.
• Araoye EF, Stearns V, Aguh C. Considerations for the Use of Scalp Cooling Devices in Black Patients. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Oct 20;38(30):3575-3576.
• Ohsumi S, et al. Prospective study of hair recovery after (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with scalp cooling in Japanese breast cancer patients. Support Care Cancer. 2021 Oct;29(10):6119-6125. 
• Information on the International Chill Registry.