biology

Protein-bound paclitaxel

Protein-bound paclitaxel is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Protein-bound paclitaxel rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Protein-bound paclitaxel belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Protein-bound paclitaxel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Protein-bound paclitaxel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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. In this formulation, paclitaxel is bonded to albumin as a delivery vehicle. 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". This treatment was approved in the United States in 2005, and the European Union in 2008, for breast cancer cases where cancer did not respond to other chemotherapy or has relapsed. In 2012, the FDA widened the approved uses to include treatment for NSCLC. 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.

Society and culture Abraxane is registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the breast after failure of anthracycline therapy. Abraxane is also included on the Schedule of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme although the manufacturer was unable to convince the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that the drug warranted a higher price than existing comparator drugs. Protein-bound paclitaxel was developed by VivoRx which became Abraxis BioScience as the first in its class of drugs to use the nanoparticle albumin bound (nab) technology platform. In 2010, Abraxis was acquired by Celgene, which now markets Abraxane. Total revenue from the sales of Abraxane for 2009 were $314.5 million. In 2013, Abraxane was FDA approved for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In 2014, Abraxane's sales were $848 million, 31 percent year-over-year increase. In 2019 Bristol Meyers Squibb acquired Celgene for $74 billion dollars, and thus acquired Abraxis Bioscience and the rights to manufacture and market Abraxane. The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced in 2015, that it would not support the routine use of protein-bound paclitaxel in advanced pancreatic cancer on the NHS. However, this decision was changed in September 2017. It has continued to be reimbursed in England since then, despite questionable real world effectiveness.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Protein-bound paclitaxel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Protein-bound paclitaxel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Protein-bound paclitaxel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Protein-bound paclitaxel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Protein-bound paclitaxel

In research: Protein-bound paclitaxel appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Protein-bound paclitaxel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Protein-bound paclitaxel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Breast cancer, Drugs developed by Bristol Myers Squibb, Mitotic inhibitors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Protein-bound paclitaxel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Protein-bound paclitaxel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Protein-bound paclitaxel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Protein-bound paclitaxel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Protein-bound paclitaxel in simple terms?

Why does Protein-bound paclitaxel matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Protein-bound paclitaxel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Protein-bound paclitaxel.