Persistent Alopecia in a Breast Cancer Patient Following Taxane Chemotherapy and Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy: Case Report and Review of Post-treatment Hair Loss in Oncology Patients with Breast Cancer

Taxane chemotherapy and adjuvant endocrine therapy are commonly used in breast cancer patients following surgery. We describe a 59-year-old woman with a triple-positive invasive right breast cancer that was treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and adjuvant hormonal therapy. She subsequently developed scalp alopecia, with histopathological features of both androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata; the hair loss did not resolve after completion of her chemotherapy. Significant clinical improvement was observed with topical minoxidil therapy. PubMed was searched for the following terms: alopecia, breast, cancer, chemotherapy, endocrine, hair, loss, minoxidil, permanent, and taxane. The papers containing these terms and their references were reviewed. Temporary hair loss is frequently observed following taxane chemotherapy; however, albeit uncommon, persistent or permanent alopecia may occur in women with breast cancer who have been treated with taxane chemotherapy and endocrine therapy. It may be reasonable to initiate therapy with topical minoxidil in breast cancer patients who develop alopecia after treatment with either taxane chemotherapy or endocrine therapy alone or both.