Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 17th September, 2019) Alopecia or hair loss when it results from cancer treatment can cause great distress. In the case of treatment with taxanes, hair loss can be permanent. Now, laboratory research has proposed a way that could prevent alopecia due to this type of chemotherapy.A recent EMBO Molecular Medicine paper describes how scientists investigated the damage that taxanes inflict on human hair follicles.
The researchers found that taxanes are toxic to specialized niches of cells at the base of hair follicles.These niches contain cells that divide rapidly and are essential for producing hair.In further experiments, the team found that CDK4/6 inhibitors, a class of drug that halts cell division, can prevent the damage that taxane inflicts in the hair follicle.In addition, the CDK4/6 inhibitors worked in a way that did not inflict further damage on the hair follicle.
Chemotherapy induced hair loss"Taxanes are a leading cause of severe and often permanentchemotherapy induced alopecia," write the authors, who go on to discuss the need for new and effective strategies to prevent this type of hair loss.Hair loss is a very distressing and sometimes enduring side effect of chemotherapy.Chemotherapy induced alopecia can damage an individual's body image, self-esteem, and quality of life, especially when the hair does not grow back.
CDK4/6 inhibitor protected hair cellsFor the new study, Purba and colleagues focused on two taxanes paclitaxel and docetaxel that doctors use in the treatment of solid tumors, such as in the breast and lung.The team tested the drugs on hair follicles they cultured in the laboratory under conditions that were as natural as possible. The hair follicles came from the scalps of consenting patients.The hair follicle is a "mini organ" that is easy to remove whole and readily lends itself to laboratory experimentation.
Proof of principleThe authors conclude that their findings are proof of principle that this type of cell protective therapy can limit the damage that taxane chemotherapy can induce in hair follicles.There are many long standing questions that still demand answers. Why is it, for instance, that chemotherapy hair loss is more severe in some people than others, despite all receiving the same drug and dose?
