Taxol: The first taxane anticancer graft

Taxol has been identified as one of the more promising new anticancer drugs developed in recent years. The molecule was initially investigated because of its novel mechanism of action. In both phase I and II studies, taxol showed interesting activity in patients with advanced and refractory ovarian cancer, and metastatic breast carcinoma. Response rates were very encouraging, ranging between 20 and 50%. After a discussion of the mechanism of action, the proposed mechanisms of resistance, and the pharmacokinetic studies, this review will focus on taxol activity principally in ovarian and breast cancer. The possible development of the drug will be discussed with particular attention to combination drug studies with cisplatin or doxorubicin. The problem associated with potential interactions with other drugs and the issues of the optimal schedule and sequence of taxol administration with other anticancer drugs will also be addressed.