Yes, 66.3% of patients in the multi-center clinical study kept at least 50% of their hair. Typically, patients will start to see shedding (usually this is overall thinning of the hair) around 18-21 days from the initial chemo treatment. If you are on a weekly dosage that is not as strong, you may see shedding more around weeks 4-5. There are many exceptions to the amount of shedding or hair loss a patient may experience.
Effectiveness is dependent on several factors:
- The chemotherapy regimen
- The dosage and frequency of the infusion
- Other medical conditions that can cause hair thinning/ loss (anemia, autoimmune disorders, thyroid, etc.)
- Other medications that can cause hair thinning/loss
- Age (affects the hormone response)
- Recent surgery (the stress of surgery can sometimes cause hair loss)
- How the body responds to the drugs (how it is metabolized)
- How the body responds to scalp cooling
- The amount and quality of hair that a patient has before starting treatment
- Is the patient keeping up with the hair care recommendations
- If this is not the patient's first time on chemo when was the last time? If it was recent, was scalp cooling used?