A lawsuit alleging hair loss after chemotherapy has been filed by a woman who endured Taxotere (docetaxel) treatments.

Plaintiff Kimberly L. received Taxotere chemotherapy treatments for cancer from May 3, 2013 through Aug. 16, 2013. Kimberly “continues to suffer and will suffer in the future from disfiguring permanent alopecia as a result.”

Taxotere is a potent and toxic chemotherapy medication that the drug maker, Sanofi-Aventis, marketed as superior and more effective than other taxanes. According to the lawsuit, post-market studies indicate Taxotere is not more effective than less toxic taxanes, but Taxotere is more likely to cause permanent hair loss after chemotherapy. The drug is often prescribed for the treatment of breast cancer.

Sanofi-Aventis allegedly hid certain research from the FDA in an effort to keep the FDA, the medical community, and patients from knowing medical research refuted Taxotere’s superiority claims over its main competitor, Taxol.

The medical journal Cancer Treatment Review analyzed clinical studies and published the results in August 2007. According to the results, “no significant differences were found in the efficacy and outcomes obtained with Taxotere or Taxol.”

Hair Loss after Chemotherapy Not Disclosed

Taxotere’s maker did not divulge to patients in the United States that permanent alopecia was a potential side effect. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, Sanofi-Aventis used “the generic, vague, and insufficient warning that ‘hair generally grows back’ after taking Taxotere.”

Women facing breast cancer often chose the stronger Taxotere treatment, believing fewer treatments with the more toxic medication is the best option. Sanofi-Aventis is accused of engaging “in a pattern of deception by overstating the benefits of Taxotere as compared to other alternatives while simultaneously failing to warn of the risk of disfiguring permanent alopecia.”

Taxotere’s U.S. labeling made no mention of permanent alopecia until December 2015, despite numerous label changes since the drug was introduced in 1995.

The hair loss after chemotherapy lawsuit alleges the drug maker preyed upon “one of the most vulnerable groups of individuals at the most difficult time in their lives. Defendants obtained billions of dollars in increased revenues at the expense of unwary cancer victims simply hoping to survive their condition and return to a normal life.”

The lawsuit alleges that permanent alopecia causes women such as Kimberly to suffer severe emotional distress. When hair grows back after chemotherapy and the cancer has been eliminated, the patient can once again look in the mirror and see a healthy person once again. For those suffering permanent hair loss after chemotherapy, every look in the mirror and every public outing is a constant reminder of being a cancer survivor; a return to a “normal” life is not entirely possible for those left with peach fuzz on their scalps, no eye brows, no eyelashes, no body hair.

If you or someone you love has experienced permanent hair loss after chemotherapy, you could be eligible for compensation through legal representation.

The Hair Loss after Chemotherapy Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-08856-KDE-MBN and is part of the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.