A Cryotherapeutic Device for Preventing Nail Toxicity During Chemotherapy: Comparison of Three Cooling Strategies

Onycholysis is a form of nail toxicity where the nail detaches from the nail bed. This medical condition is reported to appear with up to 44% of the patients undergoing a taxanes based chemotherapy. Frozen gloves can be effective in preventing nail toxicity as they enable cold-induced vasoconstriction (CIVC), or reduction of blood flow, and therefore limits the transport of chemotherapeutic agents towards the nail bed. Unfortunately, the use of frozen gloves also results in cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD), which increases blood flow and reduces the effectiveness of the preventive treatment. Moreover, the gloves induce pain and additional distress during a cancer treatment. The objective of this article is to examine the usefulness of an active local cooling device for controlling blood flow in the fingertips and reducing CIVD, while limiting pain and discomfort. Three different cooling strategies are evaluated for comparing their cooling effectiveness.