Breast cancer is one of the most devastating diseases that can strike a woman, so it is particularly troubling that a popular chemotherapy drug has been allegedly causing permanent baldness.

While chemotherapy hair loss is very common, women who used Taxotere, also called docetaxel, for treatment for breast cancer reportedly had trouble growing their hair back. Taxotere is apart of the drug family taxanes, which work by slowing the process of cell growth.

This drug is used in a variety of cancer treatments including: breast, lung, prostate, stomach, and head or neck cancer, and is given intravenously (IV).

Women who receive Taxotere might not have realized that that was the drug used during their breast cancer treatment because it is injected intravenously during the chemotherapy session. Common Taxotere side effects include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive tearing, constipation, loss of appetite, and of course hair loss.

While hair loss is stated to be temporary on Taxotere’s warning label, a number of patients have reported otherwise with some claiming they remain completely bald after their treatment was over.

Overview of Taxotere Hair Loss

Taxotere has been available in the United States since the 1990s and is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis. While the warning label describing Taxotere side effects states that patients’ hair “generally grows back,” this has not been the case for many patients.

The risk of permanent hair loss was not mentioned until December 2015, when the FDA required the drug’s label to be updated to include the condition. It has been alleged that the drug maker knew that permanent chemotherapy hair loss was an issue linked to Taxotere for years, as some women reported having trouble regrowing their hair.

Evidence showing permanent hair loss as a potential Taxotere side effect came to light in the first significant study conducted in 2006. The researchers found that 6.3 percent of breast cancer patients grew back less than 50 percent of their hair after receiving Taxotere, with more severe cases in patients who were also given Adriamycin (Doxorubicin) and Cytoxan (Cyclophosphamide).

A more recent study published in the 2011 issue of the American Journal of Dermatopathology also found evidence of permanent hair loss in patients who were given Taxotere treatment for breast cancer.

Despite the mounting evidence before the label change, women had remained widely oblivious and were forced to accept chemotherapy hair loss as potentially permanent.

Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer are already contending with a number of other emotional and physical adjustments, so having accurate drug information available is vital to their well-being. Sanofi Aventis could potentially face a Taxotere class action lawsuit for allegedly concealing this information from patients.

Failing to provide this warning to women receiving Taxotere treatment for breast cancer, as well as the physicians administering it, has lead to the company being accused of denying them the right to make an informed decision regarding their medical care.