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The chemical structure of paclitaxel.
The taxanes are diterpenes produced by the plants of the genus Taxus (yews). As their name suggests, they were first derived from natural sources, but some have been synthesized artificially. Taxanes include paclitaxel and docetaxel. Paclitaxel was originally derived from the Pacific yew tree.
Taxanes have been used to produce various chemotherapy drugs. The principal mechanism of the taxane class of drugs is the inhibition of the microtubule function. It does this by stabilizing GDP-bound tubulin in the microtubule. Microtubules are essential to cell division, and taxanes therefore stop this - a "frozen mitosis". In contrast to the taxanes, the vinca alkaloids destroy mitotic spindles. Both, taxanes and vinca alkaloids are therefore named spindle poisons or mitosis poisons, but they act in different ways. Taxanes are also thought to be radiosensitizing.
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Chemotherapeutic agents/Antineoplastic agents (L01) |
| Alkylating agents |
Nitrogen mustards: (Chlorambucil, Chlormethine, Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide, Melphalan). Nitrosoureas:(Carmustine, Fotemustine, Lomustine, Streptozocin). Platinum: (Carboplatin, Cisplatin, Oxaliplatin, BBR3464). Busulfan, Dacarbazine, Mechlorethamine, Procarbazine, Temozolomide, ThioTEPA, Uramustine |
| Antimetabolites |
Folic acid: (Aminopterin, Methotrexate, Pemetrexed, Raltitrexed). Purine:(Cladribine, Clofarabine, Fludarabine, Mercaptopurine, Pentostatin, Thioguanine). Pyrimidine:(Capecitabine, Cytarabine, Fluorouracil, Floxuridine, Gemcitabine) |
| Spindle poison plant alkaloids |
Taxane: (Docetaxel, Paclitaxel). Vinca: (Vinblastine, Vincristine, Vindesine, Vinorelbine). |
| Cytotoxic/antitumor antibiotics |
Anthracycline family: (Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, Idarubicin, Mitoxantrone, Valrubicin). Bleomycin, Hydroxyurea, Mitomycin, Actinomycin |
| Topoisomerase inhibitors |
Camptotheca: (Camptothecin, Topotecan, Irinotecan), Podophyllum:(Etoposide, Teniposide). |
| CI monoclonal antibodies |
Alemtuzumab, Bevacizumab, Cetuximab, Gemtuzumab, Panitumumab, Rituximab, Tositumomab, Trastuzumab |
| Photosensitizers |
Aminolevulinic acid, Methyl aminolevulinate, Porfimer sodium, Verteporfin |
| Kinase inhibitors |
Dasatinib, Erlotinib, Gefitinib, Imatinib, Lapatinib, Nilotinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Vandetanib (ZD6474) |
| Other |
Alitretinoin, Altretamine, Amsacrine, Anagrelide, Arsenic trioxide, Asparaginase, Bexarotene, Bortezomib, Denileukin diftitox, Estramustine, Hydroxycarbamide, Masoprocol, Mitotane, Pegaspargase, Tretinoin |
