Docetaxel Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Docetaxel is a type of chemotherapy otherwise known as Taxotere. It is a derivative of Taxol (Paclitaxel) that has improved activity and is widely used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Docetaxel is usually given in combination with prednisone which helps aleviate side effects.

The molecular structure of Docetaxel is shown below and it is an ester of Phenylpropanoic acid and Baccatinol. The raw material for the synthesis of Docetaxel is Baccatin which comes from the Yew tree needles.

Since Docetaxel is a form of chemotherapy it comes with all the side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea, hair loss, liver toxicity, etc so compared to Docetaxel, Zytiga has few side effects.

Zytiga represents the logical choice in patients that have relapsed on current androgen deprivation strategies since it can achieve total androgen blockade. Docetaxel should be seen as the second choice when Zytiga therapy has failed.

When both Zytiga and Docetaxel have failed then Jevtana (Cabazitaxel) can be considered which is a newer version of Docetaxel. It has been shown to have activity in post Docetaxel treated patients.

Molecular structure of the steroidal compound Abiraterone the key ingredient of Zytiga.