Managing Nail Toxicity Due to Cancer Therapy

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On the fourth day of the 2023 AAD Annual Meeting, Beth McLellan, MD, FAAD, presented the nail changes related to cancer therapies during her session, “Management of Nail Toxicities Due to Cancer Therapy.”

She started with cytotoxic chemotherapy, noting that cytotoxic chemotherapy toxicities commonly present as Beau's lines and hyperpigmentation, which are often temporary. She shared that these patients are undergoing cycles of chemotherapy and when finishing their treatment, they start to see the changes in their nails. This can be confusing to patients because as they finished treatment, and their hair is starting to grow back, that is when they see the nail changes. This is because it can take a couple of months before the nail matrix declares itself in the nail grade.