Treatment FAQ

why is taxol better for cancer treatment than colchicine?

by Wilma Cremin Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Both medicines are taxanes, a powerful type of chemotherapy that can stop cancer cells from repairing themselves and making new cells. Taxol uses a solvent called Cremophor EL to dissolve its main ingredients so the medicine can enter the bloodstream. Cremophor EL can make Taxol harder to tolerate.

Full Answer

What is Taxol/paclitaxel used for?

How Taxol/paclitaxel kills cancer cells Taxol (generic name paclitaxel) is a microtubule-stabilizing drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma. It is used off-label to treat gastroesophageal, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and head and nec …

Is taxol used to treat breast cancer?

More in Breast Cancer. Taxol (paclitaxel) is one of the most commonly used and effective chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer. One of the main reasons why is that it is effective for all stages of the disease. It's among several medications in a class called taxanes, and it's also used for other forms of cancer, such as ovarian cancer.

Is it better to get Taxol every 3 weeks?

This article is archived A study found that getting Taxol (chemical name: paclitaxel) weekly had more benefits than getting Taxol every 3 weeks for women diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes or women diagnosed with breast cancer that hadn't spread to the lymph nodes but was considered high risk.

How does Taxol work in the body?

How It Works. Taxol is a mitotic inhibitor: It targets rapidly growing cancer cells by getting inside them and attaching to the scaffold-like structure of the cells called microtubules. In this way, the drug prevents cancer cells from dividing.

Why colchicine is not used in cancer treatment?

Although colchicine is not clinically used to treat cancer because of toxicity, it exerts antiproliferative effects through the inhibition of microtubule formation by blocking the cell cycle at the G2/M phase and triggering apoptosis.

What effect does colchicine have on cancer patients?

Colchicine has been found to exhibit an anticancer effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by a study using a cell model. That study attributed the inhibition of HCC development on the drug's antiproliferative effects.

Why is Taxol a medication used to treat cancer?

Taxol, an antimitotic agent used to treat cancer, blocks cancer cell growth by stopping cell division, resulting in cell death. An NCI-funded clinical trial found that 30 percent of patients with advanced ovarian cancer responded positively to Taxol treatment.

What are the effects of colchicine and Taxol on cells?

Taxol binds and stabilizes microtubules, thereby suppressing their dynamic rearrangements, which are necessary for cell growth. In contrast, colchicine is a Vinca alkaloid that binds to tubulin and inhibits its polymerization by blocking the cell cycle at the G2/M phase and triggering apoptosis.

Is colchicine a chemo drug?

Overall, colchicine decreases leukocyte chemotaxis/migration and phagocytosis to inflamed areas, and inhibits the formation and release of a chemotactic glycoprotein that is produced during phagocytosis of urate crystals.

Does colchicine cause leukemia?

They reported APL development upon long-term use of colchicine to treat Behcet's disease, and suggested that a cytotoxic effect of the drug contributed to chromosomal rearrangement associated with development of leukemia.

How effective is Taxol?

For each medicine and treatment schedule the chances of being alive 5 years after diagnosis are: Taxol once a week: 89.7% Taxol once every 3 weeks: 86.5% Taxotere once every 3 weeks: 87.3%

What does Taxol do for breast cancer?

Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug. Chemotherapy is a treatment that destroys cancer cells using anti-cancer drugs. Paclitaxel is the non-branded name of the drug, but you may hear it called by one of its brand names such as Taxol.

How does Taxol prevent a cancer cell from continuing to divide?

Taxol stops the uncontrolled cell divisions of cancer by forming extremely stable and nonfunctional microtubules. The microtubules are the means of chromosome motion during mitosis (cell division). Mitosis is halted when the stable, nonfunctional microtubules fail to form a normal mitotic apparatus.

How does taxol stabilized microtubules structure?

The antitumor drug Taxol stabilizes microtubules and reduces their dynamicity, promoting mitotic arrest and cell death. Upon assembly of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, GTP bound to β-tubulin is hydrolyzed to GDP reaching a steady-state equilibrium between free tubulin dimers and microtubules.

What does Nocodazole do to cells?

Nocodazole binds to beta-tubulin and disrupts microtubule assembly/disassembly dynamics, impairing formation of the metaphase spindles during the cell division cycle. This prevents mitosis by inducing a G2/M-phase arrest and induces apoptosis in tumor cells (Jordan et al.).

Does paclitaxel inhibit cell division?

Paclitaxel inhibits cell mitosis and is a first-line chemotherapy drug. Paclitaxel chemotherapy can increase the rate of apoptosis in tumor cells, release tumor antigens, and enhance the phagocytosis of antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

How does taxol help cancer cells grow?

Taxol is a mitotic inhibitor: It targets rapidly growing cancer cells by getting inside them and attaching to the scaffold-like structures of the cells called microtubules. In this way, the drug prevents cancer cells from dividing.

What is taxol used for?

Besides breast cancer and ovarian cancer, Taxol can be used to treat several other types of cancer, including lung cancer and Kaposi's sarcoma , a rare type of skin cancer that affects people with AIDS. 2. The chemotherapy class taxanes includes the drug Taxotere (docetaxel) as well as Taxol. This photo contains content that some people may find ...

How often can you take taxol?

It can be given as high-dose chemo, once every two or three weeks, or in low doses once a week. In some cases, Taxol is given slowly over the course of 24 hours.

What amino acid is used in Taxol?

Before you begin treatment with Taxol, your doctor will probably have you take supplements of an amino acid called L-glutamine to reduce your risk of neuropathy.

Is taxol a cyclophosphamide?

Indications. Taxol is an especially versatile drug. It is used for breast cancer in the early stages as well as for metastatic breast cancer. Typically, it is given after combination Adriamycin (doxorubicin), an anthracycline, and Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) therapy.

Is Taxol a cancer drug?

Side Effects. Risks and Contraindications. Taxol (paclitaxel) is one of the most commonly used and effective chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer. One of the main reasons why is that it is effective for all stages of the disease. 1  It's among several medications in a class called taxanes, and it's also used for other forms of cancer, ...

Does Taxol cause bone pain?

Most people tolerate Taxol well, especially in low doses. It does have side effects, however, which include: 3 . Bone and muscle aches ( Neulasta and Neupogen also frequently cause bone pain) There are ways to prevent some of the problems these side effects can cause.

What is taxol chemo?

What is Taxol? Taxol is an anti-cancer ("antineoplastic" or "cytotoxic") chemotherapy drug . Taxol is classified as a "plant alkaloid," a "taxane" and an "antimicrotubule agent." (For more detail, see "How Taxol Works" section below).

How is taxol given?

How Taxol Is Given: Taxol is given as an injection or infusion into the vein (intravenous, IV). Taxol is an irritant. An irritant is a chemical that can cause inflammation of the vein through which it is given. If the medication escapes from the vein it can cause tissue damage.

What is the name of the plant that makes taxol?

Plant alkaloids are made from plants. The vinca alkaloids are made from the periwinkle plant (catharanthus rosea). The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus).

What is the term for a drug that affects cells only when they are dividing?

They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis). Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells only when they are dividing are called cell-cycle specific. Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells when they are at rest are called cell-cycle non-specific.

How does chemotherapy work?

Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink.

How long does it take for a numbness to go away after taking Taxol?

Arthralgias and myalgias, pain in the joints and muscles. Usually temporary occurring 2 to 3 days after Taxol, and resolve within a few days. Peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling of the hands and feet) Nausea and vomiting (usually mild) Diarrhea. Mouth sores.

What to do if you have pain while taking Taxol?

If you experience pain or notice redness or swelling at the IV site while you are receiving Taxol, alert your health care professional immediately. Because severe allergic reactions have occurred in some people taking Taxol, you will be asked to take medications to help prevent a reaction.

What is the drug Taxol?

Taxol (generic name paclitaxel) is a microtubule-stabilizing drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer , as well as Kaposi's sarcoma.

What is taxol used for?

Taxol (generic name paclitaxel) is a microtubule-stabilizing drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma. It is used off-label to treat gastroesophageal, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and head and neck cancers, in addition to sarcoma, lymphoma, ...

Does Taxol kill cancer cells?

How Taxol/paclitaxel kills cancer cells. Taxol (generic name paclitaxel) is a microtubule-stabilizing drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ovarian, breast, and lung cancer, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma. It is used off-label to treat gastroesophageal, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and head and nec ….

Does paclitaxel cause cell death?

It is used off-label to treat gastroesophageal, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and head and neck cancers, in addition to sarcoma, lymphoma, and leukemia. Paclitaxel has long been recognized to induce mitotic arrest, which leads to cell death in a subset of the arrested population.

How many women take Taxol and Abraxane?

Taxol once a week (275 women) Abraxane once a week (267 women) Ixempra once a week (241 women) All three medicines were given in combination with Avastin (chemical name: bevacizumab). Avastin is a targeted therapy that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in combination with Taxol to treat metastatic, ...

Is abraxane the same as taxol?

Abraxane is a different form of paclitaxel than Taxol. Both medicines are taxanes, a powerful type of chemotherapy that can stop cancer cells from repairing themselves and making new cells. Taxol uses a solvent called Cremophor EL to dissolve its main ingredients so the medicine can enter the bloodstream.

Does abraxane use a solvent?

So people usually take medicine before receiving Taxol to minimize any reactions to the solvent. Abraxane doesn’t use a solvent. Instead, it wraps the main ingredient in albumin, the main protein of human blood plasma.

What is the drug that interferes with cell division?

Popular Answers (1) Colchicine is one example of a drug that interferes with cell division by acting on microtubule assembly and disassembly during mitosis. Such drugs (though not including colchicine) can and have been used as anticancer therapy to act directly on the tumor cells.

Is colchicine toxic to cancer?

There are several "anti-cancer drug tubulin-binding sites" and colchicine-related drugs are irreversible toxic drugs with no therapeutic margins in oncological treatment ... which is actually not the case with "certain" other 4th or 5th anti-tubulin generation drugs ...

Can VDA kill cancer cells?

Compared with solely apoptosis-inducing agents (which can also attack and kill non-malignant cells), you can kill many more cancer cells by only a few VDA molecules which destroy the tumor blood vessel system and, thus, tumor supply, because most tumor cells of the affected tumor body die of starvation then.

Is colchicine a mitotic drug?

Unfortunately, a major limitation in the use of anti-mitotic drugs in cancer chemotherapy is their severe side effects. To make matters worse , many drugs (including colchicine) are substrates for transport out of the cancer cells by multidrug resistance (MDR) efflux pumps, such as P-glycoprotein and MRP, which are often overexpressed by tumor cells.

Can colchicine be used as an anticancer?

Such drugs (though not including colchicine) can and have been used as anticancer therapy to act directly on the tumor cells. The therapeutic margin is based on the fact that tumor cells divide more often than non-tumor cells.

Does VDA kill tumor cells?

Thus, aside combination therapy, there are VDA molecules under investigation, which likewise induce tumor cell killing by apoptosis induction (verubulin) or ROS production (Combretastatin A1) in order to kill those few tumor cells which survive the vascular-disrupting effect (mainly those at the rim of tumor bodies).

When Taxol Is Used

How Taxol Works

Preparation and Dosing

Side Effects

Risks and Contraindications

Summary

  • Taxol is a chemotherapy medication that treats breast cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, sarcomas and other malignancies. It is common to experience side effects like vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, and nerve damage while taking Taxol. Some of these side effects can be prevented or lessened through supplements and medications....
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