In the past, the massive hair loss caused by chemotherapy has made many beauty lovers feel inferior and sad. Now, women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer can stop worrying about the massive hair loss caused by chemotherapy! Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy will soon have a new option to prevent hair loss – a special cap. The cap cools the patient’s scalp while she is undergoing chemotherapy. On Tuesday, the FDA approved the application of this special cap (DigniCap). The cap currently on the market is made by a Swedish company, Dignitana, which says it is the first cap approved by the FDA for scalp cooling. How does DigniCap work? Cooling the blood vessels in the scalp reduces the level of chemotherapy drugs reaching the hair follicles. In clinical trials, more than 66 percent of patients with early-stage breast cancer lost less than half of their hair after using Dignicap. An FDA spokesperson said the agency will release more data on the trial in a few days. How much does DigniCap cost? A course of treatment costs about$1,500 to$3,000; the total cost depends on how often the cap is used during chemotherapy. When will it be available for clinical use? It is not yet clear when Dignicap will be available in the clinic, and a Dignitana spokeswoman said the company is negotiating with large hospitals on how to make Dignicap available. She said the company hopes that Dignicap will be available for clinical use in a few weeks or months. Are there any potential drawbacks? Theoretically, live cancer cells could be left behind in areas where chemotherapy doesn’t reach. However, clinical trials have shown that the risk of this happening is very low. Does it work for other types of cancer as well? The device was tested in breast cancer patients, so the FDA only approved Dignicap for use in breast cancer patients. Because of its mechanism for cooling the blood vessels in the scalp, cancer cells under the cap’s scalp can be hidden by the lower temperature, so the cap cannot be used to treat blood-based cancers, such as myeloma, leukemia or lymphoma.