Some new treatments for lung cancer may shed light on hair color (Keytruda, Opdivo)
What is known about cutaneous adverse events associated with anti–programmed cell death 1 (anti–PD-1) and anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti–PD-L1 ) therapies for patients with lung cancer? How about dark hair color?
Results Fourteen patients (13 men and 1 woman; mean age, 64.9 years) receiving anti–PD-1 or anti–PD-L1 therapy for non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presented hair repigmentation during follow-up. This hair repigmentation consisted in a diffuse darkening of the hair in 13 of 14 patients, or in black patches between white hairs in 1. Thirteen of 14 patients presented a good clinical response to the treatment, with at least stable disease, and only 1 had to stop the therapy after only 4 cycles of treatment owing to a life-threatening progression of the disease.
Conclusions and Relevance We present to our knowledge the first report of hair repigmentation owing to anti–PD-1/anti–PD-L1 therapy for lung cancer in a series of 14 patients. Hair repigmentation may be a good response marker in patients receiving anti-PD1/anti–PD-L1 therapy for LC.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2642914?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social_jn&utm_term=957431130&utm_content=content_engagement%7carticle_engagement&utm_campaign=article_alert&linkId=39689169&redirect=true