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Whats the difference between Taxotere / Taxol
My mom is about to start her 6 rounds of chemo and her doctor will be giving her Taxotere & Carbo platinum. I know the most common treatment is Taxol & Carbo platinum. Does anyone know the difference between the 2 treatments and why ? Thanks
Taxanes (Taxol, Taxotere and Abraxane) are a family of drugs that have been shown to be effective in treating various types of cancer, including ovarian, breast, lung, and melanoma. Paclitaxel (frequently sold under the brand names Taxol and Onxol) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent for cancers of the lung, breast, ovary, esophagus and other types of cancer and it has been a generic drug for the last three years.
Taxol is given into a vein, but in order for the body to absorb the drug, it must first be dissolved in a solution. Taxol's history began fourty some years ago. It was found to be virtually insoluble in water. It had the solubility of a brick. The compound wouldn't dissolve very much in any solution. Without a way to get it into a cancer patient, what good was it? It was discovered that something Taxol would dissove in the "might" work in a reasonably "safe" intravenous solution in humans. It was an elixir made of castor oil and marketed as Cremophor EL. It was the "only" answer (until synthetic compounds were introduced like Taxotere). However, this castor-oil carrier is suspected as the culprit behind the misery which includes nausea, vomiting, joint pain, appetite loss, brittle hair and tingling sensations in hands and feet (neuropathy).
Docetaxel is another widely used taxane drug (sold under the name Taxotere) that is used in the treatment of cancers of the lung, breast, ovary and other common cancers. Despite the broad antitumor activity of taxanes, their clinical usefulness has been limited by common side effects such as painful nerve damage (neurotoxicity), reduction of white blood cell counts, liver damage, allergic reactions, nausea and vomiting, and other toxicities. For example, it is estimated that over 50% of patients receiving paclitaxel experience some form of drug-induced nerve damage.
The new drug for breast cancer (Abraxane) is a new form of Taxol (Paclitaxel), which is also a widely used breast cancer drug. Taxol side effects can happen in any cancer. Abraxane does not need to be dissolved in the castor oil solution and does not require special equipment to be given to patients. However, more of the women on Abraxane had numbness and tingling in their hands and feet. And more suffered nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain and anemia.
Chemotherapy-induced toxicities are common and serious clinical problems that adversely impact both the quality of life of cancer patients and the ability of patients to continue treatment for their cancer. Very little has been accomplished to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced toxicities such as nerve damage (neurotoxicity), kidney damage (nephrotoxicity), and hearing impairment (ototoxicity).
Now, Bionumerik, in boosting its new drug Tavocept, that is aimed at preventing or reducing common and serious side effects, particularly nerve and kidney damage, associated with taxane (Taxol) and platinum (Carboplatin) drugs, talks about in their literature that chemotherapy-induced toxicities are common and serious clinical problems that adversely impact both the quality of life of cancer patients and the ability of patients to continue treatment for their cancer. Very little has been accomplished to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced toxicities such as nerve damage (neurotoxicity), kidney damage (nephrotoxicity) and hearing impairment (ototoxicity). But now they have another new product.
Studies tell us that much more work needs to be done, and oncologists need to adapt treatment to the patient. There are over 100 chemotherapeutic agents and hundreds in the pipeline, all of which have approximately the same probability of working. The tumors of different patients have different responses to chemotherapy. It would be highly desirable to know what drugs are effective against your particular cancer cells before these toxic agents are systemically administered into your body. It requires individualized treatment based on testing individual properties of each patient's cancer.
Resources: Bionumerik and American Cancer Society
Taxol is given into a vein, but in order for the body to absorb the drug, it must first be dissolved in a solution. Taxol's history began fourty some years ago. It was found to be virtually insoluble in water. It had the solubility of a brick. The compound wouldn't dissolve very much in any solution. Without a way to get it into a cancer patient, what good was it? It was discovered that something Taxol would dissove in the "might" work in a reasonably "safe" intravenous solution in humans. It was an elixir made of castor oil and marketed as Cremophor EL. It was the "only" answer (until synthetic compounds were introduced like Taxotere). However, this castor-oil carrier is suspected as the culprit behind the misery which includes nausea, vomiting, joint pain, appetite loss, brittle hair and tingling sensations in hands and feet (neuropathy).
Docetaxel is another widely used taxane drug (sold under the name Taxotere) that is used in the treatment of cancers of the lung, breast, ovary and other common cancers. Despite the broad antitumor activity of taxanes, their clinical usefulness has been limited by common side effects such as painful nerve damage (neurotoxicity), reduction of white blood cell counts, liver damage, allergic reactions, nausea and vomiting, and other toxicities. For example, it is estimated that over 50% of patients receiving paclitaxel experience some form of drug-induced nerve damage.
The new drug for breast cancer (Abraxane) is a new form of Taxol (Paclitaxel), which is also a widely used breast cancer drug. Taxol side effects can happen in any cancer. Abraxane does not need to be dissolved in the castor oil solution and does not require special equipment to be given to patients. However, more of the women on Abraxane had numbness and tingling in their hands and feet. And more suffered nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain and anemia.
Chemotherapy-induced toxicities are common and serious clinical problems that adversely impact both the quality of life of cancer patients and the ability of patients to continue treatment for their cancer. Very little has been accomplished to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced toxicities such as nerve damage (neurotoxicity), kidney damage (nephrotoxicity), and hearing impairment (ototoxicity).
Now, Bionumerik, in boosting its new drug Tavocept, that is aimed at preventing or reducing common and serious side effects, particularly nerve and kidney damage, associated with taxane (Taxol) and platinum (Carboplatin) drugs, talks about in their literature that chemotherapy-induced toxicities are common and serious clinical problems that adversely impact both the quality of life of cancer patients and the ability of patients to continue treatment for their cancer. Very little has been accomplished to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced toxicities such as nerve damage (neurotoxicity), kidney damage (nephrotoxicity) and hearing impairment (ototoxicity). But now they have another new product.
Studies tell us that much more work needs to be done, and oncologists need to adapt treatment to the patient. There are over 100 chemotherapeutic agents and hundreds in the pipeline, all of which have approximately the same probability of working. The tumors of different patients have different responses to chemotherapy. It would be highly desirable to know what drugs are effective against your particular cancer cells before these toxic agents are systemically administered into your body. It requires individualized treatment based on testing individual properties of each patient's cancer.
Resources: Bionumerik and American Cancer Society
What is the best formula for the the third trial of chemotherapy?
I made 2 rounds of 6 cycles:
1. carboplatin/cyclophosphamide;
2. carboplatin/taxol
I have recurence and i suffered a new surgical with hemicolectomie. I have dygestive troubles, 4-6 diarrhea per days, from six weeks and I need to prepare for the 3rd trial.
If somebody can help me to know other kind of treatement (immunotherapy, etc)
I am 53 years old.
Ainegeu
I made 2 rounds of 6 cycles:
1. carboplatin/cyclophosphamide;
2. carboplatin/taxol
I have recurence and i suffered a new surgical with hemicolectomie. I have dygestive troubles, 4-6 diarrhea per days, from six weeks and I need to prepare for the 3rd trial.
If somebody can help me to know other kind of treatement (immunotherapy, etc)
I am 53 years old.
Ainegeu
Hi Sherri thanks for the info. Q: what stage were you diagnosed in? How many treatments did you do? were they every 3 weeks? How are you doing now?
Thanks
Thanks
I started chemo on taxol and had a severe neuropathy after one treatment, so they switched me to taxotere. According to my Dr. and all the research I've done it, taxotere is a sister drug to taxol. Same effects on the cancer, but less effects on the body. I have fared very well on taxotere, with my CA125 going down after every treatment. So, according to me, there really isn't any different except for infusion time, and side effects. Hope this helps.
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