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The first chemotherapy to extend life in prostate cancer (2004), now part of triplet therapy at first metastatic diagnosis.
Docetaxel is a taxane that stabilises microtubules and arrests dividing cells; in prostate cancer it also disrupts androgen receptor nuclear trafficking. It was the first chemotherapy to extend life in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (TAX 327, 2004) and later moved to first metastatic diagnosis: CHAARTED (OS 57.6 versus 44.0 months, HR 0.61) and STAMPEDE showed an overall survival benefit in high-volume hormone-sensitive disease, and PEACE-1 and ARASENS built triplets by adding abiraterone or darolutamide. It is also widely used in breast, lung, gastric and head and neck cancers. Neutropenia, neuropathy and fluid retention limit its use in frail patients, and whether men with low-volume metastatic disease gain anything from it remains contested. For a newcomer, it is the workhorse chemotherapy given every three weeks across many cancers.
Ball-and-stick model from PubChem 2D record (no 3D conformer available). PubChem record
Microtubule stabilisation; also disrupts AR nuclear trafficking.
1.Docetaxel slips into a pocket on its target.
Background: ADC sequencing, Antigen escape (antigen loss, lineage switch), BCG-unresponsive, Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Also on OnCo: Resistance: how tumours escape each drug class · Lines of therapy.
Given by infusion or injection in a clinic or hospital outpatient department, so it is a Part B drug: Medicare pays 80% after the Part B deductible and the patient owes 20% coinsurance, uncapped in Original Medicare unless a Medigap policy applies. HCPCS J9171. Generic.
Multi-source generic; covered under the medical benefit without prior authorisation in most plans, as part of standard regimens.
Sources: Medicare.gov: Chemotherapy · Medicare.gov: Prescription drugs (outpatient, Part B). Not medical or financial advice; verify with your plan.
Sources: NICE search: docetaxel. Funding decisions are indication-specific and change monthly; verify with NICE and your treating team.
Locally advanced or metastatic breast carcinoma that progressed during anthracycline-based therapy or relapsed during anthracycline-based adjuvant therapy
Accelerated approval on a surrogate endpoint, with a confirmatory trial required.
Locally advanced or metastatic breast carcinoma that progressed during anthracycline-based therapy or relapsed during anthracycline-based adjuvant therapy
Confirmed: the accelerated approval of 1996 converted to traditional approval 2.1 years after it was granted.
| Region | Year | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| US | 1996 | Locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after chemotherapy (Taxotere, NDA 020449) |
| US | 2004 | Metastatic CRPC (with prednisone) |
Read for the class this product belongs to (taxanes) unless the answer names the product. Population figures from the cohorts named, not a prediction for one person. Blank where no source gives a recovery figure.
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Patients with KRAS G12C lung cancer that has progressed after chemo-immunotherapy can take an oral KRAS inhibitor instead of docetaxel and gain a somewhat longer time to progression with fewer severe side effects, but should understand that most tumours become resistant within a year and that survival is not improved. KRAS G12C testing is worthwhile, but first-generation inhibitors are a step rather than a cure; combinations and next-generation inhibitors are the active research fronts.
The randomised proof for PARP inhibition in BRCA-altered prostate cancer, and the clearest evidence that the homologous recombination repair gene list should not be used as a single yes-or-no test. ATM-altered disease needs a different answer, and does not yet have one.
TPEx is a less toxic, more convenient chemotherapy backbone for patients who need cetuximab-based first-line therapy, for instance when immunotherapy is unsuitable.
The measured size of the immunotherapy problem in prostate cancer: a response rate in the low single figures, no signal from PD-L1 expression, and durable benefit in a small subgroup nobody can yet identify prospectively. Any claim that immunotherapy is coming to prostate cancer has to explain this trial.
FLOT is the reference perioperative regimen for gastric and junctional adenocarcinoma, and the backbone onto which durvalumab was added in MATTERHORN.
HER2 testing is standard in salivary duct carcinoma and trastuzumab-docetaxel a first-line option for HER2-positive advanced disease, with trastuzumab deruxtecan available at progression.
Scalp cooling works, especially for taxane-based regimens, and is safe. The question moved from whether to how to make it available: device time in the chemotherapy chair, staff training, and who pays.
Alongside the CheckMate trials this study replaced docetaxel with PD-1 blockade as second-line treatment for most lung cancers, and its PD-L1 threshold of 1% became the basis of pembrolizumab's label in previously treated disease.
Query for this drug: (TITLE:"Docetaxel" OR ABSTRACT:"Docetaxel" OR TITLE:"Taxotere" OR ABSTRACT:"Taxotere" OR TITLE:"generic" OR ABSTRACT:"generic") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Docetaxel, not a curated reading list.
Shares A Clinical Study of SI-B001 in Combination With Paclitaxel/Docetaxel in the Treatment of Recurrent and Metastatic HNSCC, Chemotherapy With or Without Trastuzumab After Surgery in Treating Women With Invasive Breast Cancer, Non-Inferiority Study on MRNA-lncRNA Model in Low-Risk Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients, Creams and lotions tried to prevent chemotherapy hair loss.
Shares A Clinical Trial of LBL-024 Combination Drug in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours[Substudy 01(NSCLC)], LDK378 Versus Chemotherapy in ALK Rearranged (ALK Positive) Patients Previously Treated With Chemotherapy (Platinum Doublet) and Crizotinib, DZD6008 Combination Therapy in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic NSCLC With EGFR Mutation (TIAN-SHAN7), A Phase I/II Study of CS2009 in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumors.
Shares Precise Chemoresection in Low-grade NMIBC Using Drug Screens in Patient-derived Organoids, Non-Inferiority Study on MRNA-lncRNA Model in Low-Risk Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients, Safety and Efficacy Comparison of Docetaxel and Ixabepilone in Non Metastatic Poor Prognosis Breast Cancer, Sequential Administration of FE75C and Docetaxel Versus Docetaxel/Cyclophosphamide in HER-2 Negative, Node Positive Breast Cancer.
Shares A Clinical Trial of LBL-024 Combination Drug in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours[Substudy 01(NSCLC)], A Phase I/II Study of LM-2417 in Subjects With Advanced Solid Tumours, DZD6008 Combination Therapy in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic NSCLC With EGFR Mutation (TIAN-SHAN7), A Phase I/II Study of CS2009 in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumors.
Shares A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of NDV-01 in Participants With NMIBC, Gemcitabine and docetaxel in patients with unresectable leiomyosarcoma: results of a phase 2 trial, Precise Chemoresection in Low-grade NMIBC Using Drug Screens in Patient-derived Organoids, A Phase III Study With THIO + Cemiplimab vs Chemotherapy as 3rd Line Treatment in Advanced/Metastatic NSCLC.
Shares A Study of Xaluritamig Plus Abiraterone Versus Investigator's Choice in Participants With Chemotherapy-naïve Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate , Substudy 01A: Safety and Efficacy of Opevesostat (MK-5684)-Based Treatment Combinations or Opevesostat Alone in Participants With Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) (MK-5684-01A), FIRSTANA, Nails after chemotherapy: lifting, ridges and discolouration.
Shares A Study of BL-M07D1, BL-M07D1+Pertuzumab and BL-M07D1+Pertuzumab+Docetaxel in Patients With Unresectable Locally Advanced or Metastatic HER2-positive , A Study of BL-M07D1 Combined With Pertuzumab Versus Docetaxel Plus Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab in Patients With First-line HER2-positive Recurrent or M, Docetaxel, Carboplatin, Trastuzumab, and Pertuzumab With or Without Estrogen Deprivation in Treating Patients With Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Positive Operable or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer, A Safety Extension Study of Trastuzumab Emtansine in Participants Previously Treated With Trastuzumab Emtansine Alone or in Combination With Other Anti-Cancer Therapy in One of the Parent Studies.
Shares Phase 2 trial of trastuzumab and docetaxel in HER2-positive salivary duct carcinoma, Chemotherapy With or Without Trastuzumab After Surgery in Treating Women With Invasive Breast Cancer, A Study of BL-M07D1 Combined With Pertuzumab Versus Docetaxel Plus Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab in Patients With First-line HER2-positive Recurrent or M, Docetaxel, Carboplatin, Trastuzumab, and Pertuzumab With or Without Estrogen Deprivation in Treating Patients With Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Positive Operable or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer.