Ling Xiong,1,* Lan Mao,1,* Yuesi Qin,2 Xia Xiong,1 Yongqiong Deng1,2 

1Department of Dermatology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Dermatology, Chengdu Integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Yongqiong Deng, Department of Dermatology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email dengyongqiong1@126.com Xia Xiong, Department of Dermatology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email xiongxia789@126.com

Background: Radiation-induced alopecia (RIA) typically presents as transiently or persistently non-scarring alopecia with a distinct geometric pattern, and minoxidil sometimes serves as an effective therapeutic agent. However, there have been no reported cases of severe unilateral alopecia following radiotherapy for pediatric glioblastoma multiforme (p-GBM), that was unresponsive to minoxidil treatment.
Case Report: This case presents a 17-year-old male with severe unilateral alopecia, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and consequently received radiochemotherapy. Remarkably, he has survived beyond three years without evidence of tumor recurrence, but with the sole persistent issue being the left-sided alopecia. Despite intensive therapeutic interventions comprising 12 months of topical 5% minoxidil therapy (twice daily) combined with three courses of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections administered at 4-week intervals, the alopecic area showed no significant improvement and eventually progressed to permanent alopecia.
Conclusion: The prevention and treatment of RIA remain poorly understood, and this clinical scenario urgently necessitates the exploration of novel therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), pediatric glioblastoma multiforme (p-GBM), alopecia, chemoradiotherapy alopecia, severe unilateral alopecia