scholarly journals The Potential Role of Nutraceuticals as an Adjuvant in Breast Cancer Patients to Prevent Hair Loss Induced by Endocrine Therapy

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3537
Author(s):  
Giorgio Dell’Acqua ◽  
Aleksander Richards ◽  
M. Julie Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Hair Growth ◽  
Common Side Effect ◽  
Healthcare Outcomes ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Botanical Supplements

Nutraceuticals, natural dietary and botanical supplements offering health benefits, provide a basis for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Use of CAM by healthy individuals and patients with medical conditions is rapidly increasing. For the majority of breast cancer patients, treatment plans involve 5–10 yrs of endocrine therapy, but hair loss/thinning is a common side effect. Many women consider this significant, severely impacting on quality of life, even leading to non-compliance of therapy. Therefore, nutraceuticals that stimulate/maintain hair growth can be proposed. Although nutraceuticals are often available without prescription and taken at the discretion of patients, physicians can be reluctant to recommend them, even as adjuvants, since potential interactions with endocrine therapy have not been fully elucidated. It is, therefore, important to understand the modus operandi of ingredients to be confident that their use will not interfere/interact with therapy. The aim is to improve clinical/healthcare outcomes by combining specific nutraceuticals with conventional care whilst avoiding detrimental interactions. This review presents the current understanding of nutraceuticals beneficial to hair wellness and outcomes concerning efficacy/safety in breast cancer patients. We will focus on describing endocrine therapy and the role of estrogens in cancer and hair growth before evaluating the effects of natural ingredients on breast cancer and hair growth.

Hair Loss Prevention by a Scalp Cooling Device in Early Breast Cancer Patients: The Poliambulanza Preliminary Experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziana Prochilo ◽  
Alessandra Huscher ◽  
Federica Andreis ◽  
Mara Mirandola ◽  
Elisabetta Zaina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Hair Follicles ◽  
Common Side Effect ◽  
Scalp Cooling ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Cooling Device ◽  
End Of Treatment

Background: The most effective agents in the treatment of breast cancer have a common side effect, the hair loss. Some studies reported a reduction of hair loss with the use of the scalp cooling device. Indeed, it decreases the drug accumulation in the hair follicles. We report our preliminary experience with a scalp cooling device in reducing chemotherapy-induced alopecia and related distress in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. </P><P> Methods: Hair loss grading and treatment tolerability were evaluated during chemotherapy every 21 days and 3 weeks after the last cycle of chemotherapy via Dean’s scale by patients and operators and a comfort analogic scale by patients. We administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire at the baseline and at the end of treatment to assess the distress related to chemotherapy- induced alopecia. Results: Among the 46 patients identified, 27 accepted the device. The eligible chemotherapy regimens included docetaxel+cyclophosphamide (TC), doxorubicin+cyclophosphamide (AC) and paclitaxel (P) weekly+trastuzumab (T). 24 pts (89%) completed the treatment; 3 pts (11%) treated with AC prematurely interrupted use of the scalp-cooling device due to inefficacy. After the last cycle of chemotherapy, the number of patient who perceived a HL < grade 2 was 16 (59%). The hair retention reported by operators has been higher (78%). 81.5% of patients well tolerated the treatment. Conclusion: In our study, the scalp-cooling device reduced chemotherapy-induced alopecia in taxane- based chemotherapy. Furthermore, it suggests a discordance in hair loss perception between patients and operators.

Hair loss associated with aromatase inhibitor treatment among breast cancer patients.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21619-e21619
Author(s):  
Lisa Gallicchio ◽  
Carla Calhoun ◽  
Kathy J. Helzlsouer
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Aromatase Inhibitor ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Common Side Effect ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Increased Risk

e21619 Background: Hair loss and thinning have been reported by breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs); these side effects are documented to be reasons that patients discontinue their AI therapy and have been shown to be associated with a decrease in quality of life. Despite this knowledge, there is a paucity of detailed data on hair changes over the course of AI therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine hair changes and risk factors for hair loss among breast cancer patients initiating aromatase inhibitor therapy and followed for one year. Methods: Data were analyzed from a cohort of 146 breast cancer patients initiating AI therapy and followed over the first year of their AI treatment. At baseline (prior to AI therapy) and at 1-year, a questionnaire was administered that ascertained data on demographics, health behaviors, and symptoms. Detailed hair loss questions, including those pertaining to family history and specific location of hair loss, were added during the study period when study staff noticed that hair loss and thinning were commonly being reported on the symptom checklist after initiation of AI therapy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine factors related to AI-attributed hair loss. Results: Among the 86 breast cancer patients who completed the detailed hair loss survey at 1-year (mean age = 63y), 43% reported experiencing hair loss after the initiation of AI therapy. The most frequently reported time period of onset of the AI-attributed hair loss was between 3 and 6 months post-AI initiation (43.2%), with 67.6% of patients noting hair loss in the mid-scalp (top of head). Factors significantly associated with AI-related hair loss at 1-year were: hair loss prior to AI therapy, having a BMI > 30 kg/m2(odds ratio (OR) = 6.5), being a current smoker (OR = 7.8), and maternal history of hair loss or hair thinning (OR = 9.1). ORs were similar when patients with prior chemotherapy were excluded. Conclusions: Hair loss is a common side effect of AI therapy that can negatively affect a patient’s quality of life and potentially lead to treatment discontinuation. Treatment options for this AI-related side effect should be explored, especially for patients who are at increased risk.

The role of chemotherapy in hormone receptor-positive and HER2-positive breast cancer patients over age 70.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12511-e12511
Author(s):  
Vincent Caggiano ◽  
Carol Parise
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Her2 Positive ◽  
Her2 Positive Breast Cancer ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

e12511 Background: Standard adjuvant therapy for HER2 positive female breast cancer patients that are estrogen receptor (ER) positive is chemotherapy, trastuzumab, and endocrine therapy. For patients older than 70 years of age, the combination of chemotherapy and trastuzumab may increase the toxicity profile. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of chemotherapy in for the ER+/PR+/HER- and ER+/PR+/HER+ subtypes in patients over age 70. These subtypes differ only by HER2 status. Methods: We identified 13,167 cases of patients over age 70 with stages 1-3 first primary invasive breast cancer from the California Cancer Registry diagnosed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010. Of these, 9,710 were ER+/PR+/HER- and 988 were ER+/PR+/HER+. Cox regression analysis adjusted for race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, grade, and year of diagnosis was used to compare risk of mortality for combination endocrine and chemotherapy versus endocrine therapy alone. Analyses were conducted separately for each stage. Results: For the ER+/PR+/HER- subtype, there was no difference in the risk of mortality for patients given endocrine and chemotherapy versus endocrine therapy alone for stages 1 and 2. For stage 3, there was a 57% reduced risk of mortality (HR = 0.43; 95%CI: 0.27-0.69) for patients given combination chemo and endocrine therapy. For the ER+/PR+/HER+ subtype, there were no differences in risk of mortality in any stage due to treatment. Conclusions: With the exception of stage 3 patients with the ER+/PR+/HER- subtype, chemotherapy appears to add little or no benefit to risk of mortality for patients over 70 years of age. These results support the use of endocrine therapy and anti-HER2 therapy without chemotherapy in elderly patients with early stage, estrogen receptor positive, HER2 positive breast cancer.

scholarly journals MCM3 upregulation confers endocrine resistance in breast cancer and is a predictive marker of diminished tamoxifen benefit

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne Løkkegaard ◽  
Daniel Elias ◽  
Carla L. Alves ◽  
Martin V. Bennetzen ◽  
Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Endocrine Resistance ◽  
Predictive Marker ◽  
Endocrine Treatment ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Minichromosome Maintenance ◽  
Primary Tumors

AbstractResistance to endocrine therapy in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer is a major clinical problem with poorly understood mechanisms. There is an unmet need for prognostic and predictive biomarkers to allow appropriate therapeutic targeting. We evaluated the mechanism by which minichromosome maintenance protein 3 (MCM3) influences endocrine resistance and its predictive/prognostic potential in ER+ breast cancer. We discovered that ER+ breast cancer cells survive tamoxifen and letrozole treatments through upregulation of minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs), including MCM3, which are key molecules in the cell cycle and DNA replication. Lowering MCM3 expression in endocrine-resistant cells restored drug sensitivity and altered phosphorylation of cell cycle regulators, including p53(Ser315,33), CHK1(Ser317), and cdc25b(Ser323), suggesting that the interaction of MCM3 with cell cycle proteins is an important mechanism of overcoming replicative stress and anti-proliferative effects of endocrine treatments. Interestingly, the MCM3 levels did not affect the efficacy of growth inhibitory by CDK4/6 inhibitors. Evaluation of MCM3 levels in primary tumors from four independent cohorts of breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen mono-therapy or no adjuvant treatment, including the Stockholm tamoxifen (STO-3) trial, showed MCM3 to be an independent prognostic marker adding information beyond Ki67. In addition, MCM3 was shown to be a predictive marker of response to endocrine treatment. Our study reveals a coordinated signaling network centered around MCM3 that limits response to endocrine therapy in ER+ breast cancer and identifies MCM3 as a clinically useful prognostic and predictive biomarker that allows personalized treatment of ER+ breast cancer patients.

Role of integrative medicine in the continuum of care of breast cancer patients in the Indian context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Partha Basu ◽  
Richa Tripathi ◽  
Ravi Mehrotra ◽  
Koninika Ray ◽  
Anurag Srivastava ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Integrative Medicine ◽  
Continuum Of Care ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
The Continuum
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