Taxotere is a drug commonly used as part of a chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer treatments. While hair loss is associated with chemotherapy, it is not usually permanent. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) updated the warning label requirements recently to include mentioning the risk of permanent hair loss (also called alopecia) for patients administered Taxotere as part of their chemotherapy treatments.
From the FDA Website: Safety Labeling Changes Approved By FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) December 2015
Taxotere has been linked to alopecia (hair loss) which can be permanent. How this happens is, the immune system begins to attack hair follicles, which causes them to fall out. Hair loss can take on several forms; in patches, total scalp baldness, or a complete loss of hair on the entire body. There are numerous side effects commonly reported by those who were administered Taxotere, such as:
Women were told that their baldness would be temporary when using Taxotere, but it is believed that the manufacturers knew of the risk of permanent baldness associated with the drug. Instead of warning of possible permanent baldness associated with Taxotere, they marketed the drug as a more effective method for treating breast cancer patients than other Taxanes. Taxanes are a family of drugs used as chemotherapy agents, such as Taxol or Taxotere.
Plaintiffs contend there was a study done that shows Taxol to be a superior alternative, but that makers of Taxotere may have concealed the findings. There was also a study done which concluded “severe and permanent female hair loss, especially scalp alopecia” done in 2012.
If you were administered Taxotere as part of your breast cancer chemotherapy treatments, and have suffered persistent or permanent hair loss, you may be entitled to compensation. Get your free consultation with an attorney today to discuss your legal rights to receiving compensation from the manufacturer of Taxotere.