Breast cancer chemotherapy with Taxotere may cause hair loss that continues long after treatment is ceased, according to several patients.

Plaintiff Jill B. recently filed a lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis, alleging that her breast cancer chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere caused her to permanently lose her hair. Jill says she was treated with Taxotere from October 1999 to December 1999. This treatment with Taxotere allegedly resulted in “disfiguring permanent alopecia.”

Taxotere (docetaxel) is a breast cancer chemotherapy drug, part of the drug family known as taxanes. Taxanes are chemotherapy drugs derived from yew trees and work to treat cancer by overstabilizing cancer cells and preventing further cell reproduction.

Like other breast cancer chemotherapy agents, Taxotere causes hair loss during treatment. Chemotherapy agents cause hair loss because they target fast dividing cells. Although this effectively targets cancer cells, it can also target hair follicles – the fastest-dividing healthy cells in the body.

Usually, hair loss during breast cancer chemotherapy will stop after treatment is over. However, Jill claims that the hair loss caused by Taxotere treatment can be permanent.

Hair loss can allegedly be seriously detrimental to breast cancer survivors. Not only can these patients never escape the stigma carried by baldness, they also may suffer from self esteem issues. Healthy, long hair is generally associated with beauty, and the inability to grow back hair can be detrimental to a woman’s view of herself.

“Women with cancer who experience alopecia, as compared with women with cancer who do not, report lower self-esteem, poorer body image, and a lower quality of life,” the Taxotere lawsuit states. “Alopecia can be stigmatizing and may result in anger, anxiety, embarrassment, sadness, depression, shame, helplessness, fear, and loss of sense of self. “

“Women with alopecia may experience a loss of sense of femininity, sexuality, attractiveness, self-confidence, and womanhood.”

Numerous studies have been published linking Taxotere and permanent hair loss. Jill argues that despite the amount of knowledge available, Sanofi-Aventis failed to warn their customers that breast cancer chemotherapy treatment with the drug can cause permanent hair loss.

In 2015, new warnings were added to the Taxotere patient information regarding permanent hair loss. However, Jill says the drugs’ label allegedly contains “no mention of irreversible or permanent hair loss under ‘Warnings and Precautions’ or ‘Adverse Reactions.’”

Jill argues that the drugs’ label should contain explicit warnings that breast cancer chemotherapy treatment may cause permanent hair loss.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, Sanofi-Aventis failed in their duty to warn consumers about the risks associated with their drugs. Because Jill and other patients allegedly were not warned about the risks associated with Taxotere, they say they were unable to make an informed choice about their breast cancer chemotherapy treatment.

The Taxotere lawsuit accuses Sanofi-Aventis of failure to warn, negligence, negligence misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and fraud & deceit.

The complaint seeks compensatory damages, general damages, special damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages, restitution, disgorgement, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-10681-JTM-MBN and is 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.