An Alabama cancer patient recently filed a docetaxel side effects lawsuit against Sanofi Aventis, alleging that she suffered permanent hair loss, or alopecia, after taking Taxotere.

Taxotere, also known by its generic name docetaxel, is a chemotherapy drug prescribed to treat advanced-stage breast cancer. Plaintiff Patricia H. files the docetaxel side effects lawsuit in Louisiana federal court joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company. The lawsuit was filed on June 4, 2018.

Patricia alleges she began chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere on Jan. 1, 2014. She continued treatment through April 31^st that year.

The docetaxel side effects lawsuit is filed on multiple counts including failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraud and deceit.

Overview: Docetaxel Side Effects Lawsuit

The docetaxel side effects lawsuit joins a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against Sanofi, which alleges patients were left in the dark about the risk of permanent hair loss side effects due to taking Taxotere.

Taxotere is a widely-used chemotherapy drug manufactured by Sanofi Aventis. In addition to breast cancer treatment, it is FDA-approved as a treatment for advanced stomach cancer treatment, non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic prostate cancer, and head and neck cancer treatment.

Taxotere is part of a family of drugs known as taxanes. It is typically administered in combination with other medications such as cisplatin, doxorubicin, fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, and cepecitabine. It helps fight off cancer by being an anti-mitotic agent, and is administered intravenously through a vein (during one hour-long infusion cycle, re-administered every 3-4 weeks).

Although hair loss during chemotherapy is a common, well-known and expected side effect to chemotherapy, many women claim they have been left unaware of permanent hair loss side effects, also known as permanent alopecia, before they underwent chemotherapy with Taxotere.

Patients like Patricia say they had no idea that after taking Taxotere, their hair might never grow back. Women expect their hair would eventually grow back once their chemotherapy treatment is completed.

Patricia and many other patients have filed a docetaxel side effects lawsuit alleging that Taxotere caused them to develop disfiguring hair loss that they were never warned about.

Sanofi is facing allegations that they knew or should have known that Taxotere causes permanent hair loss after chemotherapy and that they provided insufficient and inadequate forewarnings of this side effect.

Patients further accuse Sanofi of insufficiently testing Taxotere, negligently designing and manufacturing Taxotere, selling a defective and unsafe product, and causing patients to develop permanent hair loss after chemotherapy due to its omissions and lack of forewarnings.

A number of studies have found a link between Taxotere and permanent hair loss side effects after chemotherapy. Some patients report losing all body hair including even eyelashes and eyebrows.

A study published in the Annals of Oncology in 2012 concluded that “Permanent and severe alopecia is a newly reported complication of the FEC-100 docetaxel breast cancer regimen.” Results of the study stated that “[n]o spontaneous regrowth of the scalp hair was noted. Treatment including vitamins … proved to be ineffective.”

The Docetaxel Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05619-JTM-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Taxotere MDL is In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.