Vitamin d gel on the scalp: a new hope against chemo hair loss?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patients at least 18 years of age * Able to fully understand and participate in the informed consent process * Patients who are scheduled to receive a taxane-based regimen for a histologically confirmed solid tumor that is: 1. Early stage and/or treatment naïve, or 2. Relapsed or is refractory to previous therapy, or 3. Operable and necessitates adjuvant or neo-adjuvant treatment * Have no evidence of alopecia or mild alopecia (NCI CTCAE v.4.0 grade 1 alopecia defined as hair loss of \<50% of normal for that individual that is not obvious from a distance but only on close inspection; a different hair style may be required to cover the hair loss but it does not require a wig or hair piece to camouflage). Female/male-pattern baldness or age-related hair loss are allowed if not greater than grade 1, per NCI-CTCAE v. 4.0. Patients that have previously lost their hair may enroll if they currently have Grade 0 or 1 alopecia * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Score of 0 or 1 within 14 days prior to registration * Has baseline neutrophil counts of \> 1500 cells/mm3 within 72 hours prior to registration * Has serum calcium less than or equal to upper limit of normal (ULN) (for patients with an albumin lower than 3.0, a corrected calcium serum calcium = serum calcium +\[0.8\]\[3.5-serum albumin\]) within 72 hours prior to registration Exclusion Criteria: * Patients receiving calcium-lowering therapy or drugs that may affect calcium levels (e.g., calcitonin, mithramycin, phosphate, denosumab) within 4 weeks of initiation of topical calcitriol. Patients who have been managed with bisphosphonates or calcium-lowering therapy for 3 months or greater prior to the start of the trial and have demonstrated evidence for stability of calcium metabolism would be considered eligible for participation in the trial. * Has a history of drug or alcohol abuse within 1 year of study enrollment as determined by the investigator. * Patients who elect to shave the scalp hair prior to the initiation of chemotherapy or who plan to do so during the chemotherapy treatment. * Any dermatological condition that in the opinion of the investigator will affect the absorption of the study medication, e.g. Atopic Dermatitis, etc. * Has been treated with an investigational agent within 30 days or six half-lives of its biologic activity whichever is longer, before the start of study. (Patients may not be concurrently enrolled on another trial or concurrently treated with another investigational agent) * Patients with a history of hypercalcemia or vitamin D toxicity, or hospitalization for treatment of angina, myocardial infarction, or congestive heart failure or psychiatric illness currently or within 30 days of study entry as determined by the investigator. * Has a history of significant allergy to calcitriol as determined by the investigator. * Has any condition that interferes with the ability of the subject to understand or comply with the requirements of the study. * Patients taking Vitamin D supplements during the study, unless they have been taking Vitamin D supplements for 30 days or more prior to the start of the study and that the dose of the Vitamin D supplement remain the same throughout the study. * Patients treated with medications that are known to affect calcium levels within 4 weeks of initiation of topical therapy (\>500 IU vitamin A, calcium supplements, fluoride, antiepileptics).with the exception of patients on stable therapy for more than six months * Patients with hypercalcemia or kidney stones * Patients that indicate they have significant hair breakage or hair damage and associated hair loss from hair over-processing within the last 30 days due to peroxide applications, permanent hair coloring, bleaches, streaking, perms, relaxers and/or hair oxidative dyes. * Current alopecia grade 2 or greater as per NCI-CTCAE v.4.0, or significant hair loss or hair breakage * Prior radiation to the cranium * Pregnant or breastfeeding