The pharmacology of paclitaxel in cancer therapy

Paclitaxel (PTX) had been identified as an anticancer ingredient from the bark of T. brevifolia by 1967. In 1971, it had officially entered the National Cancer Institute drug development program. PTX is a microtubule-stabilizing drug that has been approved for treating various kinds of cancers as a first-line or a second-line drug. As a natural anticancer drug, PTX targets in microtubules to block cell divisions, thereby leading to tumor cells death. It has a wide use of clinical applications in treating various cancer, including ovarian cancer, bladder cancer and breast cancer etc. In this review, we discuss the discovery history of PTX and summarize its pharmacology, including the effects on cancer cells and the tumor immune microenvironment. We also aims to offer a comprehensive understanding in PTX for expanding its clinic application in future.