Paclitaxel - Protein Bound
Brand Names
Abraxane® (There may be other names for this medication.)
How is it Administered?
Abraxane will be given intravenously (IV), which means it will be given through a tube placed in a vein, usually in your arm, wrist, hand or chest.
What is it Used For?
This medication is used alone or with other treatments to treat metastatic and recurrent breast cancer.
How Does it Work?
Cancer is a group of diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Both normal and cancer cells go through cycles that include a resting phase, active growing phases, and division. Your chemotherapy schedule is based upon the type of cancer you have, the rate at which they divide, and the times when each drug is the most likely to be effective. This is why chemotherapy is typically given in cycles.
Protein-bound paclitaxel is in a class of drugs known as plant alkaloids or taxanes. It differs from regular paclitaxel (Taxol) in that it is made in combination with the protein albumin (Taxol is made in combination with a solvent called Cremophor EL.
Protein-bound paclitaxel affect the cells’ ability to divide and reproduce itself by interfering with microtubules, tiny organelles inside individual cells. Eventually the cells die.
