Scalp Hypothermia (Penguin Cold Caps) in Preventing Alopecia in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Cancer morbidity and mortality are severe public health problems that are increasing day by day. In addition to their benefits of some methods, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which are applied for cancer treatment, there are some side effects and complications, such as skin reactions, hair loss, fatigue, vomiting and loss of appetite. In this article, one of these complications and affecting more than half of the patients who receive cancer treatment alopecia will be mentioned. Alopecia may be temporary or permanent, but it has been stated by health professionals that this problem is often ignored. Alopecia affects body image in individuals, increases the level of stress, causes anxiety and depression and even individuals are exposed to stigma. The emergence of these problems in the patient also affects the quality of life negatively. To prevent alopecia, which can be seen especially due to chemotherapy, the process of cooling the scalp has started to be applied about 50 years ago and the materials used thanks to the changing materials science have been developed. In this study, the efficacy of scalp hypothermia (Penguin Cold Caps) in the prevention of alopecia, which is frequently seen due to chemotherapy, has been evaluated and it is aimed to investigate the relevant studies.