Drug Interactions With Paclitaxel

A number of medications may cause drug interactions with paclitaxel, including rifamycin antibiotics, protease inhibitors, and certain anticonvulsants. These interactions can increase the level of paclitaxel in your blood and increase your risk of developing potentially negative side effects. If drug interactions with paclitaxel are a concern, your healthcare provider may advise you to avoid certain medications or adjust your dosages.

• Certain antibiotics or antifungals, including:

• Clarithromycin (Biaxin^®)
• Erythromycin (Ery-Tab^®)
• Isoniazid (Nydrazid^®)
• Itraconazole (Sporanox^®)
• Ketoconazole (Nizoral^®)
• Miconazole
• Telithromycin (Ketek^®)

• Certain anticonvulsants, including:

• Carbamazepine (Epitol^®, Equetro™, Tegretol^®, Tegretol XR^®)
• Fosphenytoin (Cerebyx^®)
• Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal^®)
• Phenobarbital (Luminal^®)
• Pentobarbital (Nembutal^®)
• Phenytoin (Dilantin^®, Phenytek^®)
• Primidone (Mysoline^®)

• Doxorubicin (Adriamycin^®, Doxil^®)
• Gemfibrozil (Lopid^®)
• "Live" vaccinations, including:

• Chickenpox vaccine (varicella vaccine)
• FluMist^® (the nasal vaccine for influenza; the injected vaccine is not live)
• MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine)
• Polio vaccine
• Rotavirus vaccine
• Smallpox vaccine
• Yellow fever vaccine
• BCG vaccine (used in some countries for tuberculosis)

• Protease inhibitors, such as:

• Amprenavir (Agenerase^®)
• Atazanavir (Reyataz^®)
• Fosamprenavir (Lexiva^®)
• Indinavir (Crixivan^®)
• Nelfinavir (Viracept^®)
• Ritonavir (Norvir^®)
• Saquinavir (Invirase^®)

• Rifamycin antibiotics, including rifabutin (Mycobutin^®), rifampin (Rifadin^®), and rifapentine (Priftin^®).