Paclitaxel

Description

The prescription drug Paclitaxel injection is indicated:

• • In addition to other drugs, it can be administered as part of a clinical trial for primary breast cancer, which is defined as cancer that has not progressed to the lymph nodes under the arm or beyond the breast.
  • Either by itself or in conjunction with further chemotherapy or anti-cancer medications to treat breast cancer that has metastasized to other organs or regions surrounding the breast, such as the lymph nodes above or below the collarbone (secondary breast cancer). 
  • In order to treat ovarian cancer 
  • In order to treat lung cancer 
  • In order to treat Kaposi’s sarcoma

Dosage and Side Effects of Paclitaxel Injection:

Although there are a few other ways to administer paclitaxel, the most recommended method is to drip it into the vein (intravenously) in the hand or arm. This depends on your preferences and other considerations, such as how easy it is for chemotherapy personnel to identify the appropriate veins. It can be administered monthly at smaller doses throughout an hour, or once every 21 days over a period of three hours (referred to as the accelerated or dosage dense). The amount of time that passes between each treatment cycle will allow your body to heal appropriately and may differ based on whether the usual range of blood cell counts has been reached.

Anemia (low red blood cell count), weakness, exhaustion, hair loss, numbness, tingling, or burning in the hands or feet, joint and muscle pain, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, hives (raised bumps), rash, diarrhea, mouth or lip sores (mucositis), infections, nausea, edema, vomiting, bleeding episodes, injection site irritation, and low blood pressure (hypotension) are among the most common adverse reactions.

Warning and Precautions of Paclitaxel Injection:

• Those who have experienced allergic reactions to any of the drug’s constituents should not take it.
• If you are or intend to become pregnant, let your doctor know before starting paclitaxel.
• Talk about breastfeeding or breast-feeding with your doctor. Whether you will take Paclitaxel or breastfeed is something you and your doctor should decide together.
• If your white blood cell count is low, you should not use this drug.
• Paclitaxel 100 mg Injection should not be administered to you if you have an allergy to medications that contain Cremophor.
• Patients must be made aware that paclitaxel may cause substantial adverse reactions if they are also receiving other chemotherapy or anti-cancer medications
• When taking this medication together with recognized CYP2C8 substrates like repaglinide and rosiglitazone, inhibitors like gemfibrozil, and inducers like rifampin, caution must be used.
• Every patient receiving paclitaxel dosage needs to have periodic peripheral blood cell counts done in order to track the development of myelotoxicity.