Efficacy and Safety of DIGNICAP™ System

Scalp cooling to prevent chemotherapy-induced alopecia has been in use since the 1970's and offers excellent or good prevention of alopecia caused by many chemotherapeutic regimens, including those commonly used for breast cancer. The protection from alopecia offered by scalp cooling is a consequence of vasoconstriction resulting in reduced blood flow in the scalp, and reduced metabolic rate in the hair follicles with consequent decreased exposure to the chemotherapeutic agents. This limits the damage to dividing cells in the hair follicles. In general, scalp cooling is well tolerated. Tolerance can be graded by a Visual Analogue Scale of 0-10, in which 0 represents 'not tolerable' and 10 means 'really well tolerable'. Mean scores vary between 6.9 and 8.0. No serious side effects have been reported. The most common reported side effects are headaches, unpleasant feelings due to the heaviness of the cap and coldness, dizziness and transient lightheadedness. Headaches are mostly not severe and can usually be prevented by paracetamol. Freezing has never been reported. Side effects in more than 10% of the patients were the reason to stop scalp cooling in only four of all studies. DigniCap® System has been developed to provide continuous scalp cooling with high efficacy, safety and acceptable patient comfort. The system consists of a refrigerator unit integrated into a control unit based on a computerized interface. The system forms a compact mobile cabinet to which a soft and tight-fitting silicon cap is connected via a tube. A liquid coolant is pumped from the cooled reservoir in the cabinet to circulate through small canals within the cap. Two separate cooling circuits allow coolant to flow through the front and the back of the cap autonomously. Scalp temperature is monitored by three separate sensors in the cap: two temperature sensors and a security sensor. Deviations from the preset temperatures are immediately detected and automatically adjusted by the system. An outer cap made of neoprene is used to secure and insulate the inner silicon cap. Since hair loss becomes noticeably visible after the loss of 50% or more of the scalp hair, the efficacy and safety of the Dignicap System to prevent chemotherapy induced alopecia will be evaluated in women with early breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. The scalp cold cap will be applied at each chemotherapy cycle. Hair loss will be evaluated by patient self assessment (VAS scale), and by means of 5 standardized photographs taken prior to each chemotherapy cycle and by physician by the 5 point Dean's scale.