TAXOTERE (Docetaxel) is a cancer fighting drug belonging to the taxoid family. It is extracted from the renewable needle biomass of yew plants. One of the most serious and devastating potential side effects of Taxotere is permanent hair loss –a risk not disclosed by Sanofi-Aventis and other manufacturers. Other equally effective agents were available without the alopecia.
Taxotere (Docetaxel) is a blockbuster drug. Sales went as high as $3.1 billion in 2010. More than 3 million women were noted to have breast cancer in the US according to breastcancer.org . Roughly 75 percent of these women were prescribed Taxotere.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration originally approved the drug in 1996. Since then, the agency approved the drug to treat five types of cancers: breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, and head and neck cancers. It is one of the most popular drugs used to treat breast cancer, but it can leave survivors with permanent hair loss called alopecia.