Prospective study of a novel portable scalp-cooling cap for prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

Abstract

e24157 Background: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is one of the most distressing adverse events experienced by patients receiving systemic cancer therapy. Scalp cooling has emerged as a strategy to reduce CIA; however, its use in routine practice is limited by the high cost of the devices and the workload for medical staff. Aibou is a portable scalp-cooling system developed by a Japanese ice-pack company, in which patients bring their own ice packs and apply cooling using a specialized cap, without the need for hospitals to purchase cooling devices or staff to operate them. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled patients with breast cancer at our institution who were scheduled to receive perioperative chemotherapy including anthracycline- and/or taxane-based regimens and used Aibou for scalp cooling between November 2024 and September 2025. The primary endpoint was the rate of successful hair preservation, assessed by two independent evaluators using standardized photographs; in cases of discordance, the worse (higher) Dean scale grade was adopted. Hair preservation success was defined as a Dean scale score of ≤2 at all assessment time points, assessed at baseline and 2–4 weeks after completion of each regimen. Secondary endpoints included scalp-cooling completion rate, adverse events, and patient satisfaction. Results: A total of 25 patients were enrolled, of whom 23 were included in the analysis after excluding two who discontinued chemotherapy due to adverse events unrelated to alopecia. The median age was 46 years (range, 35–65). Thirteen patients received sequential anthracycline–taxane regimens, and ten received taxane-based regimens alone. Based on independent evaluator assessments, successful hair preservation was achieved in 10 of 23 patients (43.4%), including 30.8% (4/13) in the sequential anthracycline–taxane cohort and 60.0% (6/10) in the taxane-only cohort. Scalp cooling with Aibou was completed in 22 of 23 patients (95.7%); one patient discontinued due to headache attributed to scalp cooling. No serious adverse events related to scalp cooling were observed. Eighteen of 23 patients (78.3%) reported being satisfied with Aibou, and 17 of 23 (73.9%) would recommend it to other patients. Conclusions: Aibou, a novel portable patient-operated scalp-cooling cap, showed favorable hair-preservation outcomes and acceptable tolerability. This device will help broaden the use of scalp cooling in routine oncology care.