A woman suffering hair loss from docetaxel recently filed a lawsuit against the chemotherapy drug’s manufacturer. Docetaxel is the generic name for Taxotere, a potent chemotherapy medication in the taxane classification.

Plaintiff Kathryn A. received several rounds of docetaxel as part of her battle against cancer from August 2008 through August 2009. Allegedly, neither Kathryn nor her healthcare providers were aware that permanent hair loss from docetaxel could be an adverse side effect of the drug.

Many chemotherapy drugs cause temporary hair loss, but permanent hair loss is not expected. With no eyelashes, no eyebrows, and no hair on their heads, women who have survived breast cancer are often psychologically and emotionally devastated to find out they will continue to suffer from disfiguring, permanent hair loss.

Risk of Permanent Hair Loss from Docetaxel

According to the lawsuit, docetaxel, manufactured by Sanofi Aventis, knew that permanent hair loss, known as alopecia, could be a side effect of the medication.  Kathryn alleges that the company warned patients and healthcare providers in other countries while keeping the side effect a secret for many years from U.S. consumers.  The company allegedly kept this information under wraps despite docetaxel undergoing several label changes and updates since 1995.

The company also allegedly failed to share their own results from research performed in 2005 known as the GEICAM 9805 study. According to the study, Sanofi Aventis allegedly knew that 9.2 percent of patients suffered from permanent hair loss from docetaxel that lasted as long as 10 years and sometimes longer.

According to the hair loss from docetaxel lawsuit, Sanofi Aventis “knowingly, intentionally, and wrongfully withheld these results contained in the GEICAM 9805 study from physicians, healthcare providers, patients, and Plaintiff in the United States.”

An oncologist from Denver kept track of his patients who suffered permanent hair loss from docetaxel. In 2006, he determined that 6.3 percent of his Taxotere patients continued to have disfiguring alopecia for years after the treatments had ceased.

Even after the study, the company continued to promote docetaxel as an effective chemotherapy medication stating that patients’ hair “generally grows back.” According to the lawsuit, this vague allusion to side effects is not equivalent to a warning that permanent hair loss from docetaxel is a risk.

Despite issuing warnings in Europe and Canada that may cause permanent alopecia , the company issued no such warnings in the United States. “Users of Taxotere were not presented with the opportunity to make an informed choice as to whether the benefits of Taxotere were worth its associated risks,” says the hair loss from docetaxel lawsuit.

Sanofi Aventis finally included information referring to the possibility of permanent alopecia in its U.S. publications in December 2015.

The Hair Loss from Docetaxel Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-12559-KDE-MBN and is part of the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2740 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.