Oncologists and other practitioners specializing in cancer often prescribe Paclitaxel for their patients' chemotherapy. This drug belongs to the family of cancer medications called plant alkaloids, and the particular plant alkaloid that Paclitaxel is derived from is called taxane. It works to kill cancer cells by disrupting the premitotic and metotic phases of cell devision. Paclitaxel is perhaps better known by the brand name Taxol®.
Types of Cancer Treated With Paclitaxel
Paclitaxel is used against breast cancer that has already metastasized, as well as ovarian cancer. Head and neck cancers also respond to this chemotherapy agent, as do non-small cell lung cancers. Paclitaxel has also been used to treat Kaposi's sarcoma, a kind of tumor that can appear on the skin or the internal organs and is most commonly related to acquired-immune-deficiency syndrome, or AIDS.
Patients getting Paclitaxel receive it intravenously, either in the hospital or at an outpatient infusion clinic. Nurses can either give this chemotherapy through a fresh IV site in the patient's arm, or through a port-a-cath or other central line that has been implanted for long-term administration of chemotherapy.
Side Effects of Paclitaxel
Like many other chemotherapy agents, Paclitaxel can cause low blood cell counts, as well as hair loss. It can cause numbness and tingling in the recipient's hands and feet. It can also cause severe allergic reactions, so often a small amount will be administered first, as a preliminary test before beginning full-scale treatment. Infusionists often give protective agents such as diphenhydramine and dexamethasone intravenously first, to protect patients from allergic reaction.Often, an H2 blocker medication such as famotidine or cimetidine is added as well. Paclitaxel can also leave patients extremely vulnerable to oral thrush infections.
Paclitaxel is not very toxic to the heart. Its most common effect on the heart is to cause it to slow down somewhat. Usually, this is not harmful at all. Occasionally patients will experience chest pain, with actual heart muscle damage in some rare cases. Oncologists usually obtain a baseline EKG before beginning treatment with Paclitaxel.
Paclitaxel can cause patients' faces to flush after receiving it. Some patients will experience muscle aches, and diarrhea is also a possibility. This chemotherapy agent can also cause fatigue. As with many other chemotherapy agents, there is a risk of irritated veins, and if Paclitaxel gets into the surrounding body tissues instead of straight into the vein, that tissue can die. Extreme care must be taken while administering Paclitaxel, and chemotherapy agents in general.
Reference:
Polovich, Martha, Julie M. Whitford, and MiKaela Olsen, eds. Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice. Pittsburgh, PA: Oncology Nursing Society, 2009.
Elizabeth Thomas - Elizabeth was born and raised in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, though she now lives in a suburb of Austin, Texas. She holds a bachelor's and ...
