DHA-paclitaxel
Encyclopedia
DHA-paclitaxel is an investigational drug (from Protarga Inc) made by linking paclitaxel
Paclitaxel
Paclitaxel is a mitotic inhibitor used in cancer chemotherapy. It was discovered in a U.S. National Cancer Institute program at the Research Triangle Institute in 1967 when Monroe E. Wall and Mansukh C. Wani isolated it from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia and named it taxol...

 to docosahexaenoic acid
Docosahexaenoic acid
Docosahexaenoic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid that is a primary structural component of the human brain and retina. In chemical structure, DHA is a carboxylic acid with a 22-carbon chain and six cis double bonds; the first double bond is located at the third carbon from the omega end...

(DHA), a fatty acid that is easily taken up by tumor cells; the DHA-paclitaxel “appears not to be cytotoxic until the bond with DHA is cleaved within the cell.” The advantage of DHA-paclitaxel over paclitaxel is DHA-paclitaxel’s ability to carry much higher concentrations of paclitaxel to the cells, which are maintained for longer periods in the tumor cells, thus increasing their action. With increased activity, DHA-paclitaxel, also known as Taxoprexin may have a more successful response in cancer patients than Taxol, and it may be able to treat more types of cancer than Taxol has been able to treat.

Clinical trials

In 2007, a phase II clinical trial reported "modest activity in patients with oesophago-gastric cancer".
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