Taxol Drug Interactions

When certain medications like rifamycin antibiotics or protease inhibitors are taken with Taxol, drug interactions may occur. These interactions can increase the level of Taxol in your blood, which can increase your risk of developing potentially negative side effects. Other medicines that may cause Taxol drug interactions include certain anticonvulsants, "live" vaccinations, and certain antibiotics or antifungals.

• 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^®).