Taxane chemotherapy
Paclitaxel (Specialist drug)
Brand names: Taxol, Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel)
Adult dose
Dose: Specialist initiation only — refer to BNF/SmPC
Route: IV
Frequency: per protocol
Clinical pearls
- Breast, ovarian, NSCLC, pancreatic; nab-paclitaxel does not require routine steroid pre-medication
Contraindications
- Severe myelosuppression
- Severe hypersensitivity to castor oil (Taxol — Abraxane has different vehicle)
- Pregnancy
Side effects
- Hypersensitivity reactions (Taxol — pre-medicate with steroid + antihistamine)
- Severe myelosuppression
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Alopecia
- Cardiotoxicity (rare)
Interactions
- Strong CYP3A4/2C8 modulators
- Trastuzumab (cardiac additive)
- Live vaccines
Monitoring
- FBC
- LFTs
- Neurological exam
- Cardiac function
Reference: BNF; SmPC; https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/paclitaxel-specialist-drug/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
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