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DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_1_20
Taxanes – The Backbone of Medical Oncology
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Abstract
Drug development in oncology has witnessed a revolutionary growth from its humble beginning with nitrogen mustard in 1940 to immunotherapy in 1986 (Interferon alpha). The arsenal of cytotoxics is ever increasing, contributing to better survival outcomes and improved quality of life. Over the years, many cytotoxics have fallen out of favor too, due to its side effects and availability of drugs with better efficacy and toxicity profile. Taxane, a microtubule stabilizing agent extracted from the poisonous Yew tree, was discovered in 1964 and came into clinical use in 1992 with its approval for ovarian cancer. This group has grown into a cornerstone of many treatment protocols, spanning multiple tumor types. This review discusses in brief the salient features of cytotoxic agents in this drug group, its history, physico-chemical properties, mechanism of action, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics. Though the benefits of taxanes are well understood, there are unique problems associated with the use of taxanes and there is an expanding literature on taxane resistance. We briefly look at the resistance mechanisms. There have been significant efforts to circumvent the problems related to conventional taxanes, with an attempt at creating newer carrier molecules and adjunct drugs with taxanes, which is slowly gaining traction in clinical practice.
Publication History
Received: 06 January 2020
Accepted: 20 February 2020
Article published online:
23 May 2021
© 2020. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)
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