A recent Taxotere lawsuit claims that preventing hair loss during chemotherapy is not possible and that alopecia with the drug may be permanent.

Plaintiff Sunny J. was reportedly treated with Taxotere from April 2009 to July 2009. After chemotherapy treatment, she allegedly experienced “permanent alopecia,” or hair loss.

It has been almost 10 years since Sunny was treated with Taxotere, but she claims that her suit is delayed because Sanofi-Aventis “fraudulently concealed facts and information” which would have allowed her to discover the defective nature of Taxotere sooner.

“Until recently, Plaintiff did not suspect, nor did she have reason to suspect, that wrongdoing had caused her injuries,” the Taxotere lawsuit states. “Additionally, Plaintiff was prevented from discovering this information sooner because Defendant misrepresented and continue to misrepresent to the public, to the medical profession and to Plaintiff that Taxotere is safe and free from serious side effects.”

Taxotere (docetaxel) is an intravenous chemotherapy agent commonly used in the treatment of breast cancer. The drug is also approved for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, advanced stomach cancer, metastatic prostate cancer, and head & neck cancer.

Chemotherapy agents like Taxotere are part of the drug class taxanes. These medications stop the spread of cancer by interfering with cancer cells’ replication process.

Like other chemotherapy agents, Taxotere targets cancerous cells by locking onto their rapid division rates. Although this is an effective mechanism, chemotherapy agents may also target hair follicles which are healthy but divide extremely quickly. This is why chemotherapy patients often lose hair on their head, face, and body.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no guarantee that hair will not fall out during or after chemotherapy. However, the medical site suggests preventing hair loss during chemotherapy by using scalp cooling caps and hair growth products such as Rogaine to mitigate the effects of chemotherapy and help regrowth.

Sunny argues that preventing hair loss during chemotherapy is not possible with Taxotere because the drug causes permanent hair loss. Years of studies have allegedly shown that permanent hair loss is a side effect of Taxotere.

However, despite the wide array of scientific evidence available, manufacturers have allegedly failed to report the risks and warn consumers about the potential for permanent

“These brand name entities failed to warn patients and healthcare providers of the risk of permanent hair loss and report this risk to the Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’). Instead, Defendants hid this devastating side effect,” Sunny argues. “In fact, some brand-name entities still fail to disclose that permanent hair loss is a common side effect.”

Because patients are not warned about the alleged risk of permanent hair loss, they may be shocked when their hair does not grow back after chemotherapy. Sunny argues that the emotional impact of this side effect can be particularly harmful for women who consider hair to be an integral part of their beauty and self-identity.

The Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-00670-JTM-MBN and it part of the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:16-md-02740-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.