Hair Pigmentation from Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Nilotinib.
Hair Repigmentation Induced by Nilotinib
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine by Kockerols and Westerweel describes hair pigmentation with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nilotinib.
The patient was a 51 year old male with chronic myeloid leukemia whose only change was the introduction of the drug 18 months prior.
About 9000 people every year in the US are diagnosed with CML. Males account for about 60 % of cases.
The exact mechanisms of pigmentation are not clear but it appears that inhibition of this kinase or another enzyme stimulated melanocytes to produce pigmentation.
REFERENCE
Kockerols CCB, Westerweel PE. Hair Repigmentation Induced by Nilotinib. N Engl J Med. 2022 Aug 11;387(6):e12. doi: 10.1056/NEJMicm2119953. Epub 2022 Aug 6.
This article was written by Dr. Jeff Donovan, a Canadian and US board certified dermatologist specializing exclusively in hair loss.