Taxanes Health Dictionary

A member of the group of antitumour drugs known as TAXANES, docetaxel is used to treat advanced or metastatic cancer arising in the breast (see BREASTS, DISEASES OF). It is also used to treat non-small cancer of the LUNGS. The NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE (NICE) has recommended that both docetaxel and PACLITAXEL should be available for the treatment of advanced breast cancer where initial anticancer CHEMOTHERAPY (including one of the ANTHRACYCLINES) has failed or is inappropriate.... docetaxel

A CYTOTOXIC drug of the taxane group (see TAXANES). Given by intravenous transfusion, it is used under specialist supervision for the treatment of ovarian cancer (usually following surgery – see OVARIES, DISEASES OF) with or without CISPLATIN. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE (NICE) guidance in 2001 also recommended that the drug could be used to treat advanced breast cancer (see BREASTS, DISEASES OF) where initial cytotoxic therapy had failed or could not be used. Its use as ?rst-line treatment is limited to clinical trials.

Side-effects of paclitaxel include hypersensitivity, MYELOSUPPRESSION, cardiac ARRHYTHMIA and peripheral NEUROPATHY. Only a minority of patients respond to the drug, but when it works the results are often long-lasting.... paclitaxel

any drug that damages or destroys cells: usually refers to those drugs used to treat various types of cancer. There are various classes of cytotoxic drugs, including *alkylating agents (e.g. *chlorambucil, *cyclophosphamide, *melphalan), *antimetabolites (e.g. *fluorouracil, *methotrexate, *mercaptopurine), *anthracycline antibiotics (e.g. *doxorubicin, *daunorubicin, *dactinomycin), *vinca alkaloids, and platinum compounds (e.g. *carboplatin, *cisplatin). Other cytotoxic drugs include *taxanes and *topoisomerase inhibitors, and some *monoclonal antibodies (e.g. *bevacizumab, *trastuzumab) have cytotoxic activity. All these drugs offer successful treatment in some conditions and help reduce symptoms and prolong life in others. Cytotoxic drugs destroy cancer cells by interfering with cell division, but they also affect normal cells, particularly in bone marrow (causing *myelosuppression), hair follicles (causing hair loss), the stomach lining (resulting in severe nausea and vomiting), mouth (causing soreness), and fetal tissue (they should not be taken during the later stages of pregnancy). Dosage must therefore be carefully controlled. See also chemotherapy.... cytotoxic drug

n. medical treatment based exclusively on plant extracts and products. Plants have provided a wide range of important drugs (*taxanes among others) and current research into drugs from plants continues to be fruitful. However, it is essential that any drugs derived directly from plants should be extracted, purified, assayed, and tested before being used as medication. The use of crude plant extracts as medicines can be dangerous because seemingly identical samples of the same plant may contain widely differing amounts of the active ingredient.... phytotherapy

n. any of a group of *cytotoxic drugs formerly extracted from a species of yew tree (Taxus) but now synthesized or produced by biotechnological methods. These drugs interact with tubulin, a protein involved in cell division, and have been found to exercise control on the growth of certain cancers, particularly breast and ovarian tumours. Taxanes include *docetaxel and *paclitaxel.... taxane