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Taxotere (Docetaxel)

This drug is prepared from the needles of European yew trees. It is from the same family of Taxol. It has shown significant activity in following cancers:

• Breast cancer. This drug was approved by FDA in May 1996 for treatment of patients with advance stage breast cancer who have failed to respond to Adriamycin.

• Non small cell lung cancer

This drug is a rather well tolerated medicine and seem to be very active in treatment of breast cancer. Over next few years we may see many more indications for it. It is administered as an intravenous infusion over 1-3 hours or over a longer period of time up to 5 day continuous infusion ( 24 hours a day for 5 days.) It can be combined with

Cisplatinum or Carboplatinum in treatment of lung cancer.

Side effects:

This drug can be associated with any of the following problems;

• Low White blood counts

• Low platelet counts

• Fluid retention and weight gain

It is imperative that a patient communicate any side effects or problems to his/her medical oncologist.