Grey hair reversal is unexpected side effect of cancer drug trial
For most people, grey hair is an inevitable part of getting older. And for some, the process happens at an early age. But in future, this might be something people don't have to put up with. An unexpected side effect of cancer treatment might help researchers develop a new method of restoring hair colour without dyes.
The discovery was made during an immunotherapy trial – a type of treatment which aims to use a patient's own cells to fight off cancer.
Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona followed 52 people with lung cancer. They were given the drugs Keytruda, Opdivo and Tecentriq. The scientists were looking to see if the patients would go into some degree of remission, but they also wanted to check if there were any side effects.
During the trial, one of the patients noticed their hair getting darker. It was initially thought to be a one-off exception, but then 13 others experienced the same thing.
And strangely, the patients whose hair got darker reacted best to the immunotherapy treatment. The scientists however are stumped as to what's causing the hair colour change.
Immunotherapy is a powerful treatment and wouldn't be given to healthy people just to reverse grey hair, but the trial does suggest a related medicine might be used for cosmetic purposes in the future. Watch this space.
The study is published in JAMA Dermatology.
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