Gefitinib Grows Hair?

Dr. Rassman,

Have you ever heard of a drug called Gefitinib? P.A. Burt observed a few years ago that a patient treated with the drug who had been bald for many years experienced sudden robust hair growth. I know of one other anecdotal report in which a patient experienced terminal hair growth at the tip of his nose. Aside from this, I’m not able to find any other infromation on the drug. I wonder what its safety profile and mechanism of action would be, especially when administered concomitantly with finasteride. Cool, huh?

Gefitinib is a drug for the treatment of certain cancers. I am surprised that a cancer drug would grow hair, mainly because cancer drugs usually “kills” cells (especially cancer cells). If it actually grows hair, I am sure we will hear more about this drug. I would take caution in the fact that cancer drugs have many unpleasant side effects.