Taxol vs Abraxane - 1266682

nz9shd01
Posts:3

My Mom has Ovarian cancer dx in 2010. She had a reaction of anaphylaxis during her second treatment of Taxol. She recently received two treatments of Abraxane without any reactions. She does have severe neuropathy. So, her doctor has recommended using Taxol in the hospital with a desensitization procedure.
Do patients who receive Taxol have less issues with neuropathy than Abraxane? I am very concerened about using Taxol again. Thank you.

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JimC
Posts: 2753

Actually neuropathy tends to be worse with Taxol than with Abraxane. In the comments to Dr. West's post on Abraxane found here, both Dr. Weiss and Dr. West state that the way Abraxane is formulated helps reduce side effects including neuropathy. After discussing the results of a trial directly comparing Taxol and Abraxane, Dr. Weiss stated: "The decreased neuropathy is probably due to getting rid of the cremaphor solvent that is needed with taxol."

JimC
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nz9shd01
Posts: 3

Thank you Jim. I am wondering if the doctor plans to give her Taxotere. The doctor told her that it would
be Taxol though. I don't know if she should take the Taxol. -Becky

Dr West
Posts: 4735

As Jim noted, Taxol (paclitaxel) is associated with preoblematic neuropathy over time, so restarting it could definitely be a challenge.

Good luck.

Dr. West

nz9shd01
Posts: 3

My mom had Taxotere yesterday at the hospital. It went well. I am not clear on the reason for changing from Abraxane to Taxotere. She (my mom) thinks there was more to it than the neuropathy. She has a pleural effusion. (I believe that is the term) The amount of fluid did not decrease after two Abraxane treatments, so we are hopeful that Taxotere may be more effective. Abraxane did bring her CA-125 down from 700+ to 111 after one treatment. We are waiting on an updated CA-125.
Thank you for your help. -Becky

catdander
Posts:

I think it makes good sense to ask why taxotere when abraxane caused such problems with neuropathy.

Following is a link to cancer dot gov site's list of drugs given for ovarian cancer. The taxanes as you know cause neuropathy in your mom and platinum causes hypersensitivity. I've found doctors appreciate a copy of documents where the info is found and it gives credence to your private searches for answers. The more you're able to let the docs know that you know how to access credible info the more doctors are willing to let you be a part of the process. The idea of patients and loved ones being a part of the decision making process is new and some docs have a hard time believing we can get good info.

Best of hopes Becky for your mom's health. Please keep us up to date.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/druginfo/ovariancancer

Janine