Permanent Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia Reversal

A topic that is rarely covered among hair loss publications is the phenomenon of chemotherapy-induced alopecia and specifically, permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Chemotherapy and Hair Loss

Around 2 million people may develop breast cancer each year globally, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. For these people who receive a breast cancer diagnosis, one the most common forms of treatment they will receive is a chemotherapy agent known as a taxane. Two of the most widely used taxane drugs are Taxol and Taxotere. A well known side effect which chemotherapy patients experience is loss of hair which can affect both their face and their scalp. It’s less known that out of the different types of chemotherapy used, taxane drugs have a tendency to cause permanent hair loss in the patients that use them. This occurrence may be referred to as permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia (PCIA) or taxane-induced persisent alopecia (TIPA) in scientific literature. These acronyms are referring to the same thing: hair that does not grow back following treatment of chemotherapy.

For some of the patients experiencing chemotherapy-induced alopecia, hair growth can return naturally following cessation of the chemotherapy, and treatments such as cooling caps and 2% minoxidil can be used to replenish hair growth. Unfortunately, for women who develop the persistent/permanent type of chemotherapy-induced alopecia, there is no known sufficient treatment to regain the lost hair. It is a similar situation to men who have developed late stages of androgenic alopecia in which the hair follicle has become completely miniaturized and ceased to cycle.

Newer Therapies Are Neccessary

Due to the impact on quality of life for these patients, mainly women, who have developed TIPA, there is a glaring need for newer and more effective therapies to treat the disorder. One company with a candidate drug in the hair industry landscape, RiverTown Therapeutics, believes they may have an effective solution to the problem. Their drug, RT1640, is also aimed at treating common hair loss or androgenic alopecia and has shown interesting results.

David Weinstein MD PhD of RiverTown Therapeutics sent over this synopsis on how his drug RT1640 can fit into the demographic of patients who lack a solution to chemotherapy-induced permanent alopecia:

BREAST CANCER TREATMENT INDUCED PERSISTENT ALOPECIA.

There are approximated 250,000 new cases of breast cancer every year in the US, and virtually all of these cases are treated with taxane-based drugs, such as Taxotere®. Of these patients, between 11% and 30% will develop a currently intractable form of alopecia, called taxane-induced persistent alopecia (TIPA) (Namini, J Clin Case Rep 2016). The company plans to apply for Orphan Drug Designation for RT1640 treatment of TIPA. Addressing this unmet need may lead to the FDA designating RT1640 as an orphan drug. The Company has generated anecdotal data demonstrating reversal of TIPA in breast cancer survivors.

Taxane-Induced Alopecia Treatment Results

RiverTown Therapeutics and Dr. Weinstein also provided two case study results of its drug RT1640 in treating two breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed with taxane induced permanent alopecia.

The first case displays regrowth that could be described as very impressive for the type of alopecia known as TIPA. I would estimate this woman’s age to be somewhere in her 50s. There’s a slightly different angle to the photos, however a couple of improvements are easily noted. To start, in the 3 week photo, the part on the left side of the woman’s head is very wide and could even be described as a bald spot. The hair which is combed down at the part is so thin that it virtually lays flat against the side of her head. The left side part in the 28 week photo is much closer to be being a “natural” hair part, it has no gaping hole, and the hair which is combed down is a good deal thicker while maintaining a bounce or curvature above the scalp. Also noted in the 3 week photo is the degree of thinness at the hairline, the frontal scalp section is almost totally see-through. It seems that the hairline in the 28 week photo is just at the bottom line where the photo cuts off. It’s easily detectable that there is more coverage and thicker hair in that whole region. With perfect photos the results would be even more clear. Lastly, the woman’s hair appears to have a slightly darker pigment in the after photos which has been reported with use of the RT1640 drug.

This case study at 5 months is less demonstrative, however coupled with the previous case study it holds merit. The baseline photo shows some thinning in the frontal portion of the scalp, but it also appears to be slightly damp. The result photo at 5 months shows thick hair with no signs of thinning at all. At first glance the difference in hair color in these photos could be seen as a strange factor especially given RT1640’s reputation for restoring some pigment. It turns out that the woman was dyeing her hair at the time the baseline photo was taken.

Based on this data, RT1640 does appear to be a very interesting drug candidate for permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Feel free to share this article with any friends or family who are familiar with PCIA. Please leave feedback in the comments section on these results. I’ve also created a forum thread to discuss these results here. Thank you

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