Taxanes in the elderly: can we gain as much and be less toxic?

摘要

Taxanes are very effective agents in several types of cancer. However, their activity is counterbalanced by side effects that could represent a limitation of their use in older cancer patients. This review aims at evaluating whether or not there are data supporting a tailored use of standard taxanes i.e. docetaxel and paclitaxel in elderly patients with the aim to increase their therapeutic index. In addition, recent data on the role of nanoparticle albumine-bound paclitaxel in breast cancer are discussed in this paper.