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Permanent Hair Loss Connected To Taxotere

Thursday, May 26th, 2016

Taxotere (a.k.a. docetaxel) was introduced in the mid-1990s as a cancer fighting drug. This drug was primarily prescribed to fight breast cancer, but it was also used to treat prostate and other forms of cancer. Taxotere is a type of chemotherapy drug that is taken intravenously (through an IV) that is manufactured and sold by Sanofi-Aventis. Taxotere has been connected to permanent hair loss in thousands of patients across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.

Taxotere, like all chemotherapy drugs, has many side-effects including nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. You probably expected that your hair would grow back after your treatment was completed. It appears that for many patients, between 10 and 15 percent in some studies, Taxotere causes permanent hair loss.

In fact, it is possible that the doctor may not have even warned you of the possibility of permanent hair loss. The full extent of Taxotere’s effects was not published until December of 2015, when the FDA directed Sanofi-Aventis to change the warnings on the label. There is currently an investigation to determine how much Sanofi-Aventis knew about Taxotere and permanent hair loss.

Studies conducted regarding the permanent hair loss

Complete hair loss did appear as a side-effect in Phase II of clinical trials. Moreover, the manufacturer self-reported an incident rate of 9.2 percent to the EMA in 2005. Despite this data, they did not update the labels.

Thousands of women who received treatment with this drug are now permanently bald as a result of the manufacturer’s failure. There is an alternative treatment in the same drug class that does not have permanent alopecia as a potential side effect.

Several studies have been conducted on Taxotere after the 2005 clinical trial to determine the actual incident rate of permanent hair loss. A 2006 study by Dr. Scot Sedlack discovered up to 6.3 percent of patients experienced significant and permanent hair loss (less than 50 percent regrowth) after treatment. Another study published in 2011 in the American Journal of Dermatopathology found that there is an increased connection between chemotherapy regimens and permanent hair loss. That study is supported by another published in 2012 by the European Society for Medical Oncology. This European study found that permanent hair loss is connected to FEC 100-docetaxel (Taxotere). Study after study has found that Taxotere can cause permanent hair loss, but still the updated label took years to be released.

What to do if you have been affected by permanent hair loss caused by Taxotere

You have the right to be fully informed of everything connected to your treatment, including all side effects. How can you be expected to make an informed decision regarding your health if the pharmaceutical company is not honest about the full effects of the drug? You deserve to have every piece of information available to enable you to make the right choice for yourself and your family. Failure to disclose all information undermines your rights.

If you have had cancer and became permanently bald after Taxotere treatments, you may have an actionable claim and we would like to assist you. We want to let you know that we are now accepting cases related to the prescription drug Taxotere.

If you or someone you know has taken Taxotere, contact Dean Boyd for more information. You can call us at (806) 242-3333 or Contact Us by email. You can also visit our office at 4423 SW 45th Ave, in Amarillo, Texas or 10623 Quaker Ave #102 in Lubbock, Texas.

While some clients might not know if they were given Taxotere, permanent hair loss is an extremely rare side effect of breast cancer treatment. If you are permanently bald after breast cancer treatment, you were possibly given Taxotere. If you are not sure if you took Taxotere, then feel free to give us a call and we can review your medical records.

We welcome the opportunity to review your case. Please share this with anyone who might need our help. There will be no fee unless we collect something for you from the company that did this to you or your loved one.

*The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. Viewing this information does not establish/constitute an attorney-client relationship with the law firm of Attorney Dean Boyd.