A study looking at using samples of hair to find out how new cancer drugs affect the body

Cancer type:

All cancer types

Status:

Results

Phase:

Other

This study was looking at using samples of hair collected from people who were in clinical trials of new cancer drugs. The researchers wanted to know if they could use hair to find out more about how these drugs affected the body.

Researchers test all new drugs before they are available for use. They first study the drugs in laboratories. If they show some promise then the researchers study the effects of these drugs in people. Studies that involve people are called clinical trials.

Clinical trials look at many different things, including how the drug works in your body and what effect it has on your body. This is called pharmacodynamics. To look at the pharmacodynamics, researchers may ask the permission of people in clinical trials to collect a small sample of skin (biopsy). But this is can be very unpleasant and often not convenient for people.

Researchers in this study believed they could get the same results from hair samples. The researchers also thought this would be more acceptable to people.

The aim of this study was to find out if hair samples from people in clinical trials could be used to see how new cancer drugs were working in the body.