Logo
dictionary thesaurus

paclitaxel

noun
pac·​li·​tax·​el | \ ˌpa-kli-ˈtak-sᵊl How to pronounce paclitaxel (audio) \

Definition of paclitaxel

: an antineoplastic drug C47H51NO14 originally derived from the bark of the Pacific yew but now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew and used to treat ovarian cancer

Examples of paclitaxel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Researchers randomly assigned 1,274 people with advanced disease to receive one of two kinds of chemotherapy — either paclitaxel (marketed as Taxol) plus carboplatin or pemetrexed (marketed as Alimta) plus carboplatin — or Keytruda. — Melissa Healy, latimes.com, "For many lung cancer patients, Keytruda is a better initial treatment than chemotherapy, study finds," 5 June 2018 Doctors debate whether any advantages of Abraxane merit the extra cost compared with generic paclitaxel. — Andrew Pollack, New York Times, "Doctor’s Stake in Tribune Is to Preserve ‘Public Trust’," 23 May 2016

First Known Use of paclitaxel

1992, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for paclitaxel

Pacific yew + -litax- (perhaps from Taxus brevifolia) + -el (alteration of -ol entry 1 or -ol entry 3)

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for paclitaxel

paclitaxel

noun
pac·​li·​tax·​el | \ ˌpak-li-ˈtak-səl How to pronounce paclitaxel (audio) \

Medical Definition of paclitaxel

: an antineoplastic agent C47H51NO14 that was originally derived from the bark of a yew tree (Taxus brevifolia of the family Taxaceae) of the western United States and British Columbia but that is now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew (T. baccata) and is used to treat ovarian cancer which has not responded to conventional chemotherapy — see taxol

WORD OF THE DAY

impunity

play

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!