A woman from Alabama has recently filed a Taxotere side effects lawsuit, alleging she developed permanent alopecia soon after her Taxotere chemotherapy regimen started.

This Taxotere side effects lawsuit is joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), which consists of other product liability claims from patients alleging they developed permanent alopecia.

Plaintiff Patricia H. opted to file this Taxotere side effects lawsuit after discovering Sanofi Aventis may have known the risk of permanent alopecia after it was revealed that European medical authorities had issued a Taxotere label update years prior to the FDA’s order in 2015.

More specifically, this warning came in December 2015 when the FDA issued an order to Sanofi Aventis to update Taxotere’s warning label to include reports of permanent hair loss from alopecia. While this label change helps prevent future cases of Taxotere alopecia, this warning came too late to Patricia and numerous other women.

According to the Taxotere side effects lawsuit, Patricia had started her Taxotere chemotherapy treatment regimen on Jan. 1, 2014. This treatment was recommended shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, with Taxotere being one of the most popular treatment drugs for this purpose.

Like other chemotherapy drugs, Taxotere works by attacking and inhibiting the reproductive functions of rapidly reproducing cells. This means that hair follicles are one of the first groups of cells attacked, which makes hair loss a common side effect for chemotherapy patients.

While permanent alopecia is a possible side effect, it is a rare occurrence and should be noted on medication warning labels if there have been reported cases. Patricia says she was not aware of this correlation during the course of her treatment, which ended on April 31, 2014.

At some point during her chemotherapy regimen, Patricia says she developed significant hair loss and has been unable to regrow the hair. In her Taxotere side effects lawsuit, Patricia alleges Sanofi Aventis either knew or should have known about the risk of permanent alopecia but had failed to warn its customers.

Overview of Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss

Taxotere was first approved by the FDA in the mid-1990s to treat breast cancer patients but was later approved to treat other cancers. Taxotere has been associated with cases of permanent alopecia years before the FDA issued the label change in 2015, with the first significant study published in 2006.

This inquiry was conducted by Dr. Scot Sedlacek, an oncologist at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers in Denver, Colorado, which found that Taxotere patients faced an increased risk of permanent hair loss. The study found that 6.3 percent of breast cancer patients grew back less than 50 percent of their hair after starting their Taxotere chemotherapy treatment.

In contrast to the studies, the Taxotere warning label states that hair loss from chemotherapy “generally grows back” at some point after their treatment regimen has ended. Patricia states she would not have agreed to take Taxotere if she had been aware of the risk of permanent hair loss.

This Taxotere side effects lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2740, where it will stand alongside other claims alleging Taxotere permanent hair loss.

This Taxotere Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05619-JTM-MBN, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.