{"entity":{"id":"hair-photobiomodulation","kind":"technology","name":"Low-level light therapy (photobiomodulation) for hair","aka":[],"tldr":"Red and near-infrared light from a cap, comb or in-clinic device, sold for hair growth and tested twice in breast cancer. Adding it to scalp cooling did not improve on scalp cooling alone, and a separate caution applies to shining light at tissue where a tumour may be.","summary":"Photobiomodulation delivers non-thermal red or near-infrared light to stimulate mitochondrial activity in the tissue beneath. It has strong evidence in oncology for one thing, oral mucositis, where the MASCC and ISOO guidelines recommend it with specified parameters. Hair is a different question, and the two randomised trials in breast cancer come to different-looking conclusions for different reasons.\n\nThe HAIRLASER trial (Lodewijckx et al., Supportive Care in Cancer 2023) randomised 32 women who had finished anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy to photobiomodulation three times a week for twelve weeks or to no intervention, and reported higher patient-rated hair scores in the treated group one month after chemotherapy. The control arm received nothing at all, with no sham device, so expectation is not separated from effect. The second trial (Claes et al., Lasers in Medical Science 2025) asked the question that matters for prevention: 29 patients on taxane-based chemotherapy received either photobiomodulation plus scalp cooling or scalp cooling alone. Scalp coverage and hair thickness did not differ between the groups, and the authors concluded that adding light did not increase the efficacy of cooling, although quality-of-life scores were higher in the group that received it.\n\nThe safety point is worth stating because it is specific to cancer and absent from the marketing. The MASCC and ISOO mucositis guideline, which recommends photobiomodulation for the mouth, also records that animal data on how light affects tumour behaviour are conflicting and advises clinicians to inform patients of expected benefits and potential risks before treating a region where a tumour is or may be. For the scalp that matters most to people treated for a brain tumour, a scalp cancer or a cancer that can spread to the scalp. The grade is insufficient: two small trials, one without a sham arm and one showing no addition to cooling.","status":"phase-2","asOf":"2026-10-02","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-level_laser_therapy","links":[{"label":"Claes et al., photobiomodulation therapy in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia in breast cancer patients, randomised trial (Lasers in Medical Science 2025)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-025-04577-7"},{"label":"Lodewijckx et al., photobiomodulation therapy for the management of chemotherapy-induced alopecia, a randomised controlled trial (Supportive Care in Cancer 2023)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07743-1"},{"label":"Elad et al., MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy (Cancer 2020)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33100"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","hair-loss","evidence:insufficient"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["rejuvenation","supportive-care","devices"],"technologies":["photobiomodulation-mucositis","scalp-cooling","minoxidil-chemotherapy-alopecia"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["mascc"],"pathways":[],"terms":["hair-anagen-effluvium","alopecia-persistent-chemotherapy"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-toxicity-qol"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Red and near-infrared photons are absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria, raising ATP production and altering reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide signalling; in hair the proposal is that this pushes resting follicles back into the growth phase.","strengths":["Painless and quick","Two randomised trials now exist in breast cancer","Strong evidence for the same technology in oral mucositis, which is why it was tried here"],"limitations":["Adding it to scalp cooling did not improve on cooling alone","The positive trial had no sham arm","Guideline caution about light delivered where a tumour is or may be","Home devices are unregulated and sold on evidence from pattern hair loss"]},"route":"/technologies/hair-photobiomodulation/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"devices","kind":"section","name":"Devices & Physical Therapies","route":"/fronts/devices/"},{"id":"rejuvenation","kind":"section","name":"Recovery & Rejuvenation","route":"/fronts/rejuvenation/"},{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"technology":[{"id":"minoxidil-chemotherapy-alopecia","kind":"technology","name":"Minoxidil for persistent chemotherapy- and endocrine-therapy hair loss","route":"/technologies/minoxidil-chemotherapy-alopecia/"},{"id":"photobiomodulation-mucositis","kind":"technology","name":"Photobiomodulation (low-level laser) for oral mucositis","route":"/technologies/photobiomodulation-mucositis/"},{"id":"scalp-cooling","kind":"technology","name":"Scalp cooling (cold caps: DigniCap, Paxman)","route":"/technologies/scalp-cooling/"}],"institution":[{"id":"mascc","kind":"institution","name":"Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer","route":"/institutions/mascc/"}],"term":[{"id":"hair-anagen-effluvium","kind":"term","name":"Anagen effluvium (chemotherapy hair loss)","route":"/terms/hair-anagen-effluvium/"},{"id":"alopecia-persistent-chemotherapy","kind":"term","name":"Persistent chemotherapy-induced alopecia","route":"/terms/alopecia-persistent-chemotherapy/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}]}}