Christian M. Kurbacher1, 3, Susanne Herz1, Gabriele Kolberg1, Nele Kettelhoit1, A. Tabea Kurbacher1, Claudia Schweitzer1, Katja Theisen1, Jutta A. Kurbacher2
1Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Gynecologic Center Bonn-Friedensplatz, Bonn, Germany
2Division of General Gynecology and Obstetrics, Gynecologic Center Bonn-Friedensplatz, Bonn, Germany
3Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is among the most common side effects of systemic anti-cancer treatment. Although not life-threatening and mostly reversible, CIA produces a deep emotional impact in many patients (pts) exposed to antineoplastic chemotherapy (Ctx), particularly in women. A recent German survey showed that CIA is even the most distressing Ctx-related side-effect among 1509 female cancer pts [Schilling, 2016] Sensor-controlled scalp cooling (SCSC) is effective in preventing CIA [Friedrichs, 2014; Van den Hurk, 2014; Cigler, 2015; Shin, 2015]. Nevertheless, SCSC is infrequently used in many countries including Germany due physicians´ concerns regarding both safety and feasibility. However, recent reviews showed that SCSC does not increase the risk of developing scalp metastasis nor is it associated with a negative impact on patients´ survival [Rugo, 2013; Lemieux, 2015]. This prospective non-interventional study was initiated to achieve detailed information about the effectiveness and safety of SCSC using the Paxman cooling system (Paxman Inc., Huddersfield, UK) in a real-world population of German female outpatients exposed to CIA-inducing Ctx due to either breast (BC) or gynecologic cancer.
