Paclitaxel (Taxol)

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is an intravenous anti-cancer drug that is approved for the treatment of AIDS-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma that has been unresponsive to first-line treatment. It is also used to treat breast and ovary cancer and some types of lung cancer.

Paclitaxel is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Results in people with AIDS-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma have found that 56% of 107 patients responded after a median of nine months of treatment cycles with 100mg/m² paclitaxel every two weeks.¹ However, treatment is inconvenient, since it consists of three-hour infusions of the drug into a vein.

When used for ovarian cancer, side-effects have included sore throat and mouth, low white blood cell levels (neutropenia), hair loss and numbness of the fingers and toes. In people with Kaposi’s sarcoma, the main side-effect was neutropenia, with some cases of hair loss, joint pain and nerve damage and pain.

Paclitaxel should be used with caution in patients taking antiretroviral therapy, due to the risk of side-effects due to drug interactions.^{2 3}