A Utah couple is suing the drug company Sanofi-Aventis after the wife experienced Taxotere permanent alopecia as a result of her breast cancer treatment.

Plaintiffs Holli T. and Curtis T. have filed a new lawsuit that will join the larger Taxotere MDL, or multidistrict litigation. Holli and Curtis claim that Holli took Taxotere for her breast cancer from June 2010 to September 2010.

They claim that after Taxotere use, she suffered from Taxotere permanent alopecia. Holli claims that she has experienced “permanent/persistent hair loss and diffuse thinning of hair.”

She is filing this Taxotere permanent alopecia lawsuit on multiple counts including failure to warn, strict products liability for misrepresentation, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, fraud and deceit and breach of express warranty.

This Taxotere Permanent Alopecia Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-08727-KDE-MBN in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Taxotere Permanent Alopeica

Taxotere, generically known as docetaxel, is a cancer drug that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1996. For over twenty years, it has been prescribed to treat many different types of cancers, but is commonly prescribed by doctors to patients with breast cancer.

It is one of the most popular drugs used in the United States to treat breast cancer. Some estimate that perhaps up to three quarters of all women who are fighting breast cancer will be prescribed Taxotere at some point. Sanofi, its manufacturer, claims that it is the most prescribed drug in the same drug class.

However, many women report Taxotere permanent alopecia as a result of taking the drug.

When patients go through chemotherapy cancer treatment, often hair loss occurs. Cancer patients expect to lose their hair during chemotherapy but also expect it to grow back. Most individuals experience hair regrowth after chemotherapy treatment ceases usually within three to six months.

Chemotherapy is successful because it targets quickly growing cells in the body, such as cancer cells. But hair loss occurs because chemotherapy like Taxotere also affects other quickly growing cells like hair cells.

This can trigger hair loss. With Taxotere, hair may not grow back, resulting in Taxotere permanent alopecia. With Taxotere patients, this Taxotere permanent alopecia affects all the hair on the body including eyebrows and eyelashes.

A study called the GEICAM study which was funded by drug manufacturer, Sanofi, found that Taxotere permanent alopecia occurred in 9.2% of patients. This hair loss in many cases lasted for at least 10 years.

Other studies have shown that Taxotere permanent alopecia occurs in up to six percent of women who take the breast cancer drug. Additionally, a different study followed 20 women who took Taxotere and found that nineteen of them experienced some kind of Taxotere permanent alopecia.

If you or someone you love has experienced Taxotere permanent alopecia you may benefit from speaking with an attorney. While monetary compensation cannot take away the pain and suffering of Taxotere permanent alopecia, it may help alleviate medical costs and lost wages.