paclitaxel

Meaning of paclitaxel: Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug derived from yew tree bark that stabilizes microtubules to block cancer cell division.

Definition of paclitaxel

Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy medication originally derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, though it is now largely produced through semisynthetic methods rather than extracted directly from the plant. It belongs to a class of drugs called taxanes.

Paclitaxel works by binding to tubulin, a protein that forms the microtubules cells rely on to organize their internal structure and to separate their chromosomes during cell division. By stabilizing microtubules and preventing them from breaking down normally, paclitaxel blocks a dividing cell partway through the process, which can trigger the cell to undergo programmed cell death.

Because rapidly dividing cells are especially dependent on this process, paclitaxel is used to treat a range of cancers, including certain breast, ovarian, and lung cancers, generally given as an intravenous infusion. Like other chemotherapy drugs affecting cell division broadly, it can also temporarily affect other rapidly dividing normal cells, such as those in bone marrow and hair follicles.