Article: TAXOL AS AN ANTICANCER AGENT: A REVIEW

Article Category: Review articles

DOI: 10.7897/2277-4343.1006116

Pages: 15-17

Author: Sachin Aglawe *, Amol Gayke, Pratik Kadam, Shubham Kanawade, Yogesh Garud

Abstract: The development of Taxol (paclitaxel) as an anticancer drug is reviewed. Paclitaxel (formerly called taxol), an important anticancer drug, inhibits cell replication by binding to and stabilizing microtubule polymers. As drug-receptor interactions are governed by the three-dimensional stereochemistry of both participants. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug widely used to treat different types of solid tumours (e.g. ovarian, breast, and pancreatic). Taxol acts by hyper-stabilizing microtubules, inhibiting mitosis and eventually causing cell apoptosis. Taxol belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants. From long time paclitaxel is used to induce mitotic arrest, which is responsible for cell death in a subset of the arrested population. Now it is demonstrated that intra-tumoral concentration of paclitaxel are low to produce mitotic arrest and which result in multi polar division instead. It may possible that this insight can be used to develop a biomarker to identify the 50% patients may set benefit from paclitaxel therapy. This review includes common and less common side effects for individuals taking Taxol.  Side effects that is very rare, occurring in less than 10% of patients. Here I discuss the history of paclitaxel and our recently evolved understanding of its mechanism of action.

Keyword: Taxol, Anticancer agent, chemotherapy.