Recruiting

Cold Cap Therapy

Sponsor:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Code:

NCT04764357

Conditions

Alopecia

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 7+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Paxman Scalp Cooling System

Alopecia Assessments

Patient Reported Outcomes Questionnaires

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study is being done to see if the Paxman scalp cooling device can prevent hair loss in pediatric patients receiving chemotherapy for non-cancerous conditions or solid tumors.

Primary Objective

  • To assess the safety and feasibility of the use of a scalp cooling device in pediatric and young adult patients receiving chemotherapy for non-malignant conditions and solid tumors.

Exploratory Objectives

  • To assess the incidence and intensity of chemotherapy induced hair loss in patients receiving chemotherapy for non-malignant conditions and solid tumors who have used a scalp cooling device.

Conditions

Alopecia

Study ID

NCT04764357

Start date

Jun 4, 2021

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 7+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients receiving a chemotherapeutic agent likely to cause alopecia. Any patient receiving the following drugs may experience complete alopecia (dose and schedule dependent). If they are receiving such a drug for a non- malignant indication or solid tumor, they may be suitable for inclusion in the study and may benefit from the use of a scalp cooling device. Of the commonly used intravenous single cytotoxic agents, those most likely to cause complete alopecia (dose and schedule dependent) include alkylating agents (cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, busulfan, thiotepa), antitumor antibiotics (dactinomycin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin), antimicrotubule agents (paclitaxel, docetaxel, ixabepilone, eribulin), and topoisomerase inhibitors (etoposide, irinotecan). Alopecia is less common or incomplete with bleomycin, low-dose epirubicin or doxorubicin (especially <30 mg/m2), oral cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil, gemcitabine, melphalan, methotrexate, mitomycin, mitoxantrone, the platinums (oxaliplatin, cisplatin, and carboplatin), topotecan, and the vinca alkaloids. Antibody-drug conjugates are also associated with variable hair loss, which is agent specific.
2. Diagnosed with a non-malignant condition (such as Sickle Cell Disease or Aplastic Anemia) OR Diagnosed with a solid tumor (non-brain tumor)
3. Patients must be at least 7 years old
4. Patients should have a head circumference of 50 cm or greater

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients receiving a chemotherapeutic agent for a hematologic malignant/neoplastic condition.
2. Patients with neoplasm of the brain or scalp, or present scalp metastasis, or high risk of metastatic disease to the brain or scalp (for example, neuroblastoma, melanoma or other skin malignancies, or patients who have had or are scheduled to undergo cranial irradiation.)
3. Patients who are unfit for the study based on the opinion of the primary investigator and/or the patient's primary team.
4. Patients with a previous history of adverse event associated with the Paxman scalp kit or scalp cooling device
5. Patients with cold agglutinin disease or cold urticaria
6. Inability or unwillingness of research participant or legal guardian/representative to give written informed consent
7. Patients with an active infection/infestation of scalp at the time of study enrollment

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Device Feasibility

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Cooling Cap Therapy

Participants receiving cooling cap therapy

Interventions

Paxman Scalp Cooling System

Scalp cooling will begin at least 30-45 minutes prior to administration of each chemotherapy (45 minutes for those with thick or coarse hair types). Scalp temperature will be maintained at +3°C (37°F) throughout drug administration and for at least 120-180 minutes after discontinuing the infusion. Scalp cooling will occur with each dose of chemotherapy.

Alopecia Assessments

Photographs will be taken prior to the use of the scalp cooling system and once at the end of the study. Patients with solid tumors will have additional photographs taken after every 2 cycles of chemotherapy.

Patient Reported Outcomes Questionnaires

  • Selected questions from NCI PRO-CTCAE™, Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia Distress Scale (CADS), and PediQUEST Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, at the following time points: baseline, after every 2 cycles of chemotherapy, 4 week follow up and end of study.
  • Tolerability Questionnaire each time the cooling cap is used and at the end of study

Primary outcome measure

  • Safety of the scalp cooling device as descripted by CTCAE [ Time Frame: 4 weeks +/- 2 weeks ]
  • Feasibility of the scalp cooling device [ Time Frame: 4 weeks +/- 2 weeks ]
  • Feasibility of the scalp cooling device [ Time Frame: At the 2 year study time point ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Recruiting

Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Deena Levine, MD

More Information

Sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Last update posted

May 1, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • Alopecia
  • Hair loss
  • Cooling
  • Scalp
  • Non-malignant disorders

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on 2026-05-01.