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Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss Lawsuits

Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss Lawsuits

While chemotherapy may cause some temporary hair loss, worrying about permanent hair loss should not have to be a concern. However, some women have reported a link between permanent hair loss and the chemotherapy drug Taxotere®.

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Written by: Kimberly Baden
Last Updated: January 15, 2025

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Case Overview

If you’ve received a cancer diagnosis and have gone through chemotherapy or other treatments, you likely often have many questions going through your mind: will I be able to handle any other drugs I am prescribed after treatment, what’s next in my treatment schedule, and ultimately, will I stay cancer-free? While you may have some temporary hair loss from chemotherapy, worrying about permanent hair loss should not have to be a concern. However, some women, breast cancer survivors in particular, have reported a link between permanent hair loss and the chemotherapy drug Taxotere®.

Taxotere Side Effects

Taxotere is given through injection and is associated with side effects that are common for chemotherapy drugs, including mouth sores, nausea, excessive fatigue, muscle or bone pain, and low platelet count.

An increasing number of women have reported permanent hair loss to the FDA as a result of being treated with Taxotere, claiming that they were not warned of a potential side effect of permanent hair loss. While it is a common side effect for cancer patients to lose body hair during treatment, permanent significant alopecia (hair loss) was not added to the Taxotere label by the FDA until December 2015.

Taxotere Background

Taxotere is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug that also goes by the generic name Docetaxel. Taxotere is classified as a “plant alkaloid” and was approved by the FDA in 2006 for treatment of breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, advanced stomach cancer, head and neck cancer and metastatic prostate cancer. The chemotherapy drug is also being studied to treat small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer and pancreatic cancer, soft tissue sarcoma and melanoma.

In 2010, Sanofi-Aventis removed language from its label that “hair generally grows back.”

In December 2015, Sanofi-Aventis added in the Adverse Reactions section of the Taxotere label that: “Cases of permanent hair loss have been reported.”

Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting with your doctor. Discontinuing a prescribed medication without your doctor's advice can result in injury or death.

Motley Rice LLC, a South Carolina Limited Liability Company, is engaged in the New Jersey practice of law through Motley Rice New Jersey LLC. Esther Berezofsky attorney responsible for New Jersey practice.

About the Authors

Kimberly Barone Baden | Motley Rice Attorney

Kimberly Barone Baden

Member

As a strong advocate for the most defenseless members of society, Kimberly Barone Baden seeks accountability and compensation for victims of corporate misconduct, medical negligence, harmful medical drugs and devices as well as environmental toxins through mass tort litigation.

Attorney Ann E. Rice Ervin

Ann E. Rice Ervin

Member

Ann E. Rice Ervin represents victims faced with unexpected health complications caused by harmful pharmaceutical drugs and defective medical devices. Through the pursuit of complex medical mass tort litigation, Ann works to hold accountable those responsible for corporate wrongdoing and inadequate product warning, research and testing.