What are anthracyclines and taxanes?

Background: Anthracyclines and taxanes are chemotherapeutic agents widely used in a sequential regimen in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment of early breast cancer to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. Standard practice is to administer anthracycline-based chemotherapy followed by a taxane.

What are the side effects of anthracyclines?

Adverse Effects

• Allergic reactions (anaphylaxis)
• Severe cough.
• Photosensitivity.
• Skin and nail hyperpigmentation.
• Hoarseness of voice.
• Flushing of the face.
• Fatigue.
• Joint pain.

What are the side effects of taxanes?

Like other cytotoxic agents, the side effects of taxanes largely affect organ systems with high mitotic turnover rates. The most common adverse effects are [2,3]: Fatigue….

• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
• Peripheral sensory neuropathy.
• Neutropenia.
• Cutaneous effects.

What is the difference between docetaxel and paclitaxel?

Docetaxel has demonstrated greater efficacy versus solvent-based paclitaxel in at least one trial, but both solvent-based paclitaxel and docetaxel are associated with undesirable dose-limiting toxicities, including neutropenia, sensory neuropathy, and hypersensitivity reactions.

What are examples of taxanes?

The taxanes in clinical use include paclitaxel (Taxol, Bristol-Myers Squibb) and docetaxel (Taxotere, Sanofi-Aventis). Paclitaxel is a natural product isolated from the bark of the Western yew tree (Taxus brevifolia) and docetaxel is a semisynthetic analog (Wani et al., 1971).

What cancers are treated with anthracyclines?

Anthracyclines is a class of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy that are extracted from Streptomyces bacterium. These compounds are used to treat many cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, breast, stomach, uterine, ovarian, bladder cancer, and lung cancers.

Why do anthracyclines cause cardiotoxicity?

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is due in large part to the generation of free radicals from doxorubicin through mitochondrial redox cycling of doxorubicin in the cardiomyocyte, which ultimately results in left ventricular dysfunction, and in the most severe cases, congestive heart failure.

What cancers do anthracyclines treat?

Will I lose my hair with Taxol?

Paclitaxel causes hair loss. Most people will lose all their hair, including eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair. You may begin to lose your hair about two weeks after the first treatment, but it can happen earlier. Hair loss is usually gradual, but it can happen very quickly, possibly over a couple of days.

What does Taxol do to your body?

Taxol (paclitaxel) is a cancer chemotherapy medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body and is used to treat breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. Taxol is also used to treat AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Is paclitaxel better than docetaxel?

Docetaxel was superior to paclitaxel in terms of OS and TTP. ORR was higher for docetaxel. Hematologic and nonhematologic toxicities occurred more frequently in the docetaxel group. The global quality-of-life scores were similar for both agents over time.

Which is worse Taxol or Taxotere?

According to an article recently published in the Annals of Oncology, longer follow-up results indicate that the chemotherapy agent Taxotere® (docetaxel) remains superior to the chemotherapy agent Taxol® (paclitaxel) in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer among patients who have received prior therapy with …

How are anthracyclines and taxanes used to treat breast cancer?

Anthracyclines and taxanes are cytotoxic agents that are commonly used for the treatment of breast cancer, including in the adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and metastatic setting. Each drug class of is associated with cumulative and potentially irreversible toxicity, including cardiomyopathy (anthracyclines) and neuropathy (taxanes).

Can you take anthracycline before or after taxane chemotherapy?

While the benefits of adding taxanes to anthracyclines are well established, it is unknown whether giving taxane chemotherapy before or after anthracycline chemotherapy has an impact on how long people live, how long they remain free of breast cancer, their completion of treatment, the side effects of treatment and their quality of life.

Is it safe to use anthracycline for metastatic disease?

Anthracyclines are generally not used for metastatic disease if previously used for adjuvant therapy because of the potential for cumulative cardiac toxicity, although liposomal anthracyclines may be safely used in patients with a history of prior anthracyclines exposure.