Study of Chemotherapy-Induced Hair Changes and Alopecia, Skin Aging and Nail Changes in Women With Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer

December 2, 2025 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

A Prospective, Longitudinal Study of Chemotherapy-Induced Hair Changes and Alopecia, Skin Aging and Nail Changes in Women With Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer

The purpose of this study is to see how many patients develop hair, skin and nail changes due to cancer treatments. The investigators would like to study the clinical factors, genetic markers, and impact on patients' health-related quality of life to learn more about who is at greater risk. We trust that the study will improve our understanding of how cancer patients feel about their skin, hair, and nail conditions. This information will help us determine the burden on breast cancer patients and survivors. It will also help us learn how to prevent these conditions and it may improve the way we treat them and counsel patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
546

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10021
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

MSKCC clinics

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women newly diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer (stage 0-III, any receptor type) at the time of starting chemotherapy (dd-AC-T, CMF, Newer Combination Regimens) or endocrine therapy (tamoxifen, anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane)
  • Women ≥ 18 years at the time of enrollment into the study
  • Able to communicate in English and participate in the informed consent process
  • Able to comply with the follow-up visits, assessments, answering questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Metastatic breast cancer
  • Follow-up care/visits not scheduled at MSKCC
  • Any current alopecia especially due to an active scalp and/or hair disorder (e.g. alopecia areata), or a pre-existing condition with sequelae (e.g. scarring alopecia)
  • Currently active or uncontrolled medical condition [e.g. thyroid disorder, auto-immune connective tissue disease (e.g. SLE), BMT complications (GVHD)] or medication intake (e.g. HRT), affecting scalp hair
  • Prior systemic treatment for any malignancy
  • Active secondary cancer requiring cytotoxic chemotherapy
  • Planned (or a history of) radiation therapy to the head
  • Vulnerable populations [e.g. decisionally impaired (cognitive, psychiatric), terminally ill, prisoners], or patients who, in the opinion of the investigator have a condition that precludes their ability to provide an informed consent
  • Men

Volunteer Inclusion Criteria:

  • Post menopausal women, with menopausal status defined as (per self report):
  • Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy independent of age
  • If natural menopause, age ≥ 50 with cessation of menses for at least 12 months
  • Or premenopausal women with premenopausal status defined as <53 years of age with no cessation of menses
  • Able to communicate in English and participate in the informed consent process
  • Able to comply with the baseline assessments and answering questionnaires
  • Women >/= 18 years at the time of enrollment into the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Patients having CYTOTOXIC CHEMOTHERAPY
Participants will undergo study related assessments and the appropriate HRQoL questionnaires will be administered. Baseline and follow-up clinical assessments will be performed, preferably when the patient presents to the clinic for (clinically indicated) standard-of-care visits. Initially, these visits will be coinciding with the appropriate chemotherapy dosing cycles (as applicable to select study cohorts), and subsequently they will be performed during the standard-of-care follow-up visits.
Behavioral: Questionnaires
Other: Clinical Assessments
Other: Saliva sample
(only once, preferably at baseline)
Patients having ENDOCRINE THERAPY
Participants will undergo study related assessments and Medical and Personal History Questionnaire data collection forms and the appropriate HRQoL questionnaires, will be administered. Baseline and follow-up clinical assessments will be performed, preferably when the patient presents to the clinic for standard-of-care visits. Initially, these visits will be coinciding with the appropriate therapy and subsequently they will be performed during the standard-of-care follow-up visits.
Behavioral: Questionnaires
Other: Clinical Assessments
Other: Saliva sample
(only once, preferably at baseline)
COMPARATOR (menopausal women)
Menopausal women will include unrelated visitors accompanying breast cancer patients (e.g. friends) attending the breast medicine or dermatology clinics, or female employees of MSKCC. There will be no follow-up visits (after baseline) for participants in the comparator cohort.
Behavioral: Questionnaires
Other: Clinical Assessments
Other: Saliva sample
(only once, preferably at baseline)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of persistent alopecia
Time Frame: 1 year
as assessed clinically and by phototrichogram assessments, among women exposed to cytotoxic chemotherapy
1 year
Incidence of alopecia
Time Frame: 1 year
as assessed clinically and by phototrichogram assessments, among women exposed to endocrine therapies
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Chicago
New York University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Alina Markova, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 19, 2015

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 19, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 19, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 20, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 4, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 2, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 15-198

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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