Protein-bound paclitaxel

Protein-bound paclitaxel, also known as nanoparticle albumin–bound paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel, is an injectable formulation of paclitaxel used to treat breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, among others. Paclitaxel kills cancer cells by preventing the normal breakdown of microtubules during cell division.^[2][3][4][5] In this formulation, paclitaxel is bonded to albumin as a delivery vehicle.^[6][5] It is manufactured and sold in the United States by Celgene under the trade name Abraxane where it is designated as an orphan drug as first-line treatment, in combination with gemcitabine, for the orphan disease "metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas".^[7]

This treatment was approved in the United States in 2005,^[8] and the European Union in 2008, for breast cancer cases where cancer did not respond to other chemotherapy or has relapsed.^[9][10] In 2012, the FDA widened the approved uses to include treatment for NSCLC.^[3][11] In 2013, the FDA approved protein-bound paclitaxel for use in treating advanced pancreatic cancer as a less toxic (although less effective) alternative to FOLFIRINOX.^[4]