The taxanes: an update

Crown, John
O'Leary, Michael

St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4, Ireland (J Crown FRCPI, M O'Leary MB)

Correspondence to: Dr J Crown (e-mail: [email protected])

The Lancet 355(9210):p 1176-1178, April 1, 2000.

The taxanes are anticancer cytotoxics that stabilise cellular microtubules. Two members, paclitaxel and docetaxel have substantial activity. One or both agents are widely accepted as evidence-based components of therapy for advanced breast, lung, and ovarian carcinomas. Paclitaxel has recently been approved in the USA for the adjuvant treatment of early stage node-positive breast carcinoma.