❓ Mr Tinley asks about the availability of hypothermia caps in WA hospitals to reduce chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The Minister confirms awareness but states they are no longer available due to treatment time, side effects, and space constraints.
AnsweredQoN 1952Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the Minister aware of a therapeutic device known as a hypothermia cap (or cold cap) that can be used to cool the scalp of a chemotherapy patient to help reduce alopecia? (2) Are these devices available in Western Australian hospitals? (3) If no to (2), why not and will the Minister consider their introduction?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
6 May 2014
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
49 days
(1) Yes. Scalp cooling is said to reduce chemotherapy-induced hair loss. The cooling agent (ice cap or gel cap) must be changed several times or by continuous cooling of the scalp with cold air or cold liquid. There are two scientific rationales for scalp cooling. The first is vasoconstriction, which reduces the blood flow to the hair follicles during peak plasma concentrations of the chemotherapeutic agents and so reduces cellular up take of these agents. The second rationale is reduced biochemical activity, which makes hair follicles less susceptible to the damage of chemotherapeutic agents.
(2) No. These devices are no longer available in Western Australian public and private hospitals.
(3) Scalp cooling devices are no longer utilised in Western Australian public and private hospitals due to extending treatment times by up to three hours, the high incidence of headaches making it extremely uncomfortable for the patient and lack of space in chemotherapy suites to store the machine.
Scalp cooling is effective but not for all chemotherapy patients. There have been several clinical trials of cold cap use for breast cancer patients receiving Taxanes and antracyclines in America, Europe and UK with good outcomes. Further clinical and biophysical research with other neoplastic agents is needed to determine exact indications for cooling and to improve the effect, tolerance, side-effects and the cooling procedure.
(2) No. These devices are no longer available in Western Australian public and private hospitals.
(3) Scalp cooling devices are no longer utilised in Western Australian public and private hospitals due to extending treatment times by up to three hours, the high incidence of headaches making it extremely uncomfortable for the patient and lack of space in chemotherapy suites to store the machine.
Scalp cooling is effective but not for all chemotherapy patients. There have been several clinical trials of cold cap use for breast cancer patients receiving Taxanes and antracyclines in America, Europe and UK with good outcomes. Further clinical and biophysical research with other neoplastic agents is needed to determine exact indications for cooling and to improve the effect, tolerance, side-effects and the cooling procedure.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.