Cancer treatment got rid of gray hair
Immunotherapy made gray hair darken
Anna Kerman, XX2 century, based on Medical Xpress: No dye: Cancer patients' gray hair darkened on immune drugs
The hair of a cancer patient suddenly darkened against the background of taking modern drugs. Doctors are not ready to comment on this situation yet.
Chemotherapy is known for such a side effect as baldness. However, the 14 patients in question received a different treatment – immunotherapeutic agents, whose principle of action (and side effects) differ from those of chemotherapy. A study conducted by Spanish scientists has demonstrated that among the side effects, but not undesirable effects of immunotherapeutic drugs, there may be a restoration of hair pigment, at least in patients with lung cancer (Hair Repigmentation During Immunotherapy Treatment With an Anti–Programmed Cell Death 1 and Anti–Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 Agent for Lung Cancer).
One of the patients before and after the course of immunotherapy.
When this happened with the first patient, we thought that we were talking about a separate case, says Dr. Noelia Rivera, a dermatologist from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spanish. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona). But when the scientists asked to bring photos taken before the start of treatment, it turned out that the restoration of pigment against the background of immunotherapy is not so rare – it was registered in 14 patients out of 52. 52 patients were monitored as part of a study of the undesirable effects of taking antitumor drugs: Keytruda, Opdivo and Tecentric (Tecentriq).
In 13 patients, darkening of the hair to brown or black was noted, in another patient, the black color was restored on individual strands. Interestingly, it was previously reported about the ability of these same drugs to "lighten" hair, that is, lead to loss of pigment. However, in the case when patients were treated for another type of cancer, melanoma.
Almost all patients whose hair turned dark had at least a stabilization of the course of the disease. On average, with the exception of one patient, they responded better to therapy. According to the researchers, this fact suggests that darkening of the hair can serve as a kind of indicator of the effectiveness of therapy.
Dr. Rivera reports that she and her colleagues are currently continuing to look for an explanation for what happened. According to Dr. June Robinson, a professor of dermatology at Northwestern University, the results of the study deserve closer study, but it's too early to talk about a way to "treat" gray hair.
Dr. Rivera also noted that the medications used in the course of work have serious side effects, so their use in healthy people is unsafe. But if researchers are able to confirm that these drugs really change the color of hair, over time, special means for getting rid of gray hair may appear on the market.
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24.07.2017