Cancer patients can generally expect some hair loss after they undergo chemotherapy. For the most part, this hair loss is only temporary. Most patients’ hair tends to grow back within the weeks and months following cessation of chemotherapy.

In some cases, though, that hair loss has continued long after chemotherapy treatment has stopped.

Some patients say the drug Taxotere has been causing cases of permanent chemotherapy hair loss.

Taxotere, also known by its generic name docetaxel, is a chemotherapy drug manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis.

Since it was first approved by the FDA in 1996, Taxotere has since been approved to treat several different types of cancer.

It sees particularly frequent use in the treatment of breast cancer. Taxotere is often used to treat breast cancer that hasn’t responded to other medications or that has spread to other parts of the body.

As many as 75 percent of breast cancer patients in the U.S. are treated with a regimen that includes Taxotere.

The drug’s popularity has translated to big revenues for Sanofi-Aventis. By 2004, annual sales of Taxotere reached $1.4 billion

Patients Blame Taxotere for Permanent Chemotherapy Hair Loss

Despite its widespread use, Taxotere has come under fire for allegedly causing chemotherapy hair loss that fails to resolve after treatment stops.

A study commissioned by Sanofi-Aventis known as the GEICAM study reported that over 9 percent of patients studied suffered hair loss that lasted 10 years or longer after being treated with Taxotere.

Another study published in the Annals of Oncology found that out of 20 women studied who had been treated with Taxotere, 19 suffered permanent hair loss.

One such patient had a history of complete recovery of hair growth after a previous round of chemotherapy using other drugs. But after she was treated with Taxotere, her hair failed to grow back.

New Taxotere Lawsuits Filed

A new wave of litigation over Taxotere appears to be building, as women who suffered long-lasting or permanent chemotherapy hair loss say they were not adequately warned about the risks associated with Taxotere side effects.

One California plaintiff accuses Sanofi-Aventis of concealing information about Taxotere side effects while simultaneously overstating the drug’s benefits. Ami D. says she developed permanent alopecia after she was treated with Taxotere.

She says that if she had been adequately warned that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss, she would have opted for treatment with an alternative medication instead.

Ami says the disfigurement that chemotherapy hair loss causes is particularly traumatic for women. The resulting psychological damage can be severe enough to limit a patient’s ability to earn a living by working, she claims.

Plaintiffs Request a Taxotere MDL

In the federal court system, several Taxotere lawsuits like Ami’s may soon be organized into a single multidistrict litigation or MDL.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have filed a motion with the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to consolidate 33 existing federal Taxotere lawsuits and any future claims that raise essentially the same issues into one MDL.

The plaintiffs have requested the MDL be based in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.