Small molecule
PubChem CID 36314
Paclitaxel
Taxol
- Mechanism of action
- Microtubule stabilizer
- In plain language
- Locks the cell's internal scaffolding in place so cancer cells can't divide and eventually die.
- How it works
- Paclitaxel is an antimicrotubule agent that binds tubulin and promotes its assembly into microtubules while simultaneously inhibiting depolymerization, shifting the tubulin-microtubule equilibrium toward stable polymer formation. This stabilization is abnormal and non-productive, resulting in microtubule bundles throughout the cell cycle and multiple asters during mitosis. Because dynamic microtubule turnover is required for normal mitotic spindle function, this disruption arrests cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. The resulting mitotic block triggers apoptosis in rapidly dividing cells, including tumor cells.
- Therapeutic applications
- Indicated for adjuvant treatment of node-positive breast cancer following anthracycline-based chemotherapy, and for metastatic breast cancer; first-line and subsequent-line treatment of advanced ovarian carcinoma; first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in combination with cisplatin in patients not candidates for surgery or radiation; and second-line treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.
- Class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Oncology
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