Cancer drugs A to Z list
These chemotherapy drugs destroy quickly dividing cells, such as cancer cells.
Nab-paclitaxel combines the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel with a protein called albumin.
Find out how chemotherapy works
You have these drugs as a drip into your bloodstream (intravenously).
You might have treatment through a long plastic tube that goes into a large vein in your chest. The tube stays in place throughout the course of treatment. This can be a:
central line
PICC line
portacath
You might have treatment through a thin short tube (a cannula) that goes into a vein in your arm. You have a new cannula each time you have treatment.
When you are having this treatment through a cannula it could damage the tissue if it leaks out of the vein. This is called extravasation. This can happen anywhere along the vein that the drug is going into. It doesn’t happen very often. Tell your nurse straight away if you notice any changes such as swelling, redness, pain, burning, or a stinging feeling.
Your nurse will stop the drug treatment. And they will treat the area to relieve symptoms and reduce tissue damage. Contact your healthcare team if you develop any of these symptoms when you are at home.
You have gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel as . This means that you have the treatment and then a rest to allow your body to recover.
Each cycle of treatment lasts 28 days (4 weeks). You might have up to 6 cycles of treatment. Some people might carry on having it for as long as it is working, and they are not experiencing to many side effects.
You have each cycle in the following way:
You have nab-paclitaxel as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have gemcitabine as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have no treatment.
You have nab-paclitaxel as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have gemcitabine as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have no treatment.
You have nab-paclitaxel as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have gemcitabine as a drip over 30 minutes.
You have no treatment.
You then start your next cycle of treatment.
You have blood tests before and during your treatment. They check your levels of blood cells and other substances in the blood. They also check how well your liver and kidneys are working.
Before treatment starts you may have a blood test to check for viruses such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and This is called a viral screen.
It’s important for your doctor to know if you have had any of these viruses. This is because this treatment can weaken your and can cause the virus to become active again (reactivation).
Side effects can vary from person to person. They also depend on what other treatments you're having.
Your doctor, nurse or pharmacist will go through the possible side effects. They will monitor you during treatment and check how you are at your appointments. Contact your advice line as soon as possible if:
you have severe side effects
your side effects aren’t getting any better
your side effects are getting worse
Early treatment can help manage side effects better.
We haven't listed all the side effects here. Talk to your healthcare team if you have any new symptoms that you think might be a side effect of your treatment.
Remember it is very unlikely that you will have all of these side effects. But you might have some of them at the same time.
These side effects happen in more than 10 in 100 people (more than 10%). You might have one or more of them. They include:
Increased risk of getting an infection is due to a drop in white blood cells. Symptoms include a change in temperature, aching muscles, cough, headaches, feeling cold and shivery, pain or a burning feeling when peeing, or generally feeling unwell. You might have other symptoms depending on where the infection is.
Infections can sometimes be life threatening. You should contact your advice line urgently if you think you have an infection.
You might be breathless and look pale due to a drop in red blood cells. This is called anaemia.
A cough and breathlessness could be symptoms of inflammation of the lungs (pneumonitis), but this is less common.
Rarely this treatment can cause you to wheeze. This is because the muscles around your wind tubes can tighten making it difficult to breathe (bronchospasm). If you have had radiotherapy to your lungs, the air sacs in the lung can become damaged and cause breathlessness. Or you might have a build up of fluid in the lungs.
Very rarely this treatment can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is severe inflammation to the lungs and causes a lack of oxygen to your organs such as the lungs, heart and brain. ARDS is life threatening. Symptoms can include fast and shallow breathing, tiredness, drowsiness, confusion, feeling like you will faint and shortness of breath.
This is due to a drop in the number of platelets in your blood. These blood cells help the blood to clot when we cut ourselves. You may have nosebleeds or bleeding gums after brushing your teeth. Or you may have lots of tiny red spots or bruises on your arms or legs. This is known as petechiae.
Dehydration means there isn't enough fluid in your body. You might find you aren't peeing much and the colour is a very dark yellow. Your skin might be very dry and you might feel dizzy. Aim to drink around 2 litres of fluid every day. Tell your nurse or doctor if you are not able to drink this much.
Feeling or being sick is usually well controlled with anti sickness medicines. It might help to avoid fatty or fried foods, eat small meals and snacks and take regular sips of water. Relaxation techniques might also help.
It is important to take anti sickness medicines as prescribed even if you don’t feel sick. It is easier to prevent sickness rather than treat it once it has started.
Tiredness and weakness (fatigue) can happen during and after treatment. Doing gentle exercises each day can keep your energy up. Don't push yourself, rest when you start to feel tired and ask others for help.
You could lose all your hair. This includes your eyelashes, eyebrows, underarms, legs and sometimes pubic hair. Your hair will usually grow back once treatment has finished but it is likely to be softer. It may grow back a different colour or be curlier than before.
Some people may have permanent hair loss although this is very rare.
Taste changes may make you go off certain foods and drinks. You may also find that some foods taste different from usual or that you prefer to eat spicier foods. Your taste gradually returns to normal a few weeks after your treatment finishes.
You might lose your appetite for various reasons while having cancer treatment. Sickness, taste changes or tiredness can put you off food and drinks.
Contact your advice line if you have diarrhoea. For example, in one day you have 2 or more loose bowel movements than usual. If you have a , you might have more output than normal. Your doctor may give you anti diarrhoea medicine to take home with you after treatment.
Try to eat small meals and snacks regularly. It’s best to try to have a healthy balanced diet if you can. You don’t necessarily need to stop eating foods that contain fibre. But if your diet is normally very high in fibre, it might help to cut back on high fibre foods such as beans, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, bran and raw vegetables.
Drink plenty to try and replace the fluid lost. Aim for 8 to 10 glasses per day.
is easier to sort out if you treat it early. Drink plenty and eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you can. Try to take gentle exercise, such as walking. Tell your healthcare team if you think you are constipated. They can give you a laxative if needed.
You might have pain in your tummy (abdomen), joints, muscles, arms and legs. Less commonly it may affect your bones and back.
Tell your treatment team if you have this. They can check the cause and give you medicine to help.
Skin problems include a skin rash, and itching. Less commonly your skin might get dry.
Rarely areas of skin can develop a skin rash like severe sunburn. This can happen to areas of skin that have had . This is called radiation recall. Areas of skin can also get flaky, peel, develop ulcers or blisters.
Very rarely this treatment can cause a severe skin reaction that may start as tender red patches which leads to peeling or blistering of the skin. You might also feel feverish and your eyes may be more sensitive to light. This is serious and could be life threatening.
Let your healthcare team know of any skin changes you develop. They can tell you what products you can use on your skin to help and give you other medicines to help.
You might have liver changes that are usually picked on blood tests.
Some people might have symptoms, but this less common. Rarely it can cause serious liver problems and your liver can stop working properly.
Symptoms of liver problems can include yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, feeling or being sick, bleeding or bruising, dark pee, and stomach pain.
Let your healthcare team know of any symptoms. They do regular blood tests to check for any changes in the way your liver is working.
Symptoms can include a high temperature, sore throat, runny nose, headaches, muscle aches, loss of appetite, a cough, feeling tired and shivering.
Let your healthcare team know straight away if you have these symptoms.
A build up of fluid may cause swelling in your arms, hands, ankles, legs, face and other parts of the body. Contact your healthcare team if this happens to you.
Low levels of potassium in the blood is called hypokalaemia. Regular blood tests will check for this.
Let your doctor or nurse know if you have cramping in your arm or leg muscles, tingling or numbness, palpitations (feeling your heart beat irregularly), or if you feel faint.
Tell your doctor or nurse if you’re feeling depressed. They can arrange for you to talk to someone and give treatment if necessary.
Less commonly you might feel more worried or panicky than usual (anxious). Tell your health care team if you feel anxious.
Numbness or tingling in fingers or toes is often temporary and can improve after you finish treatment. Tell your healthcare team if you're finding it difficult to walk or complete fiddly tasks such as doing up buttons.
Tell your healthcare team if you keep getting headaches. They can give you painkillers to help.
If you have difficulty sleeping, it can help to change a few things about how you try to sleep. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day and spend some time relaxing before you go to bed. Some light exercise each day may also help.
This drug might make you feel dizzy. Don’t drive or operate machinery if you have this.
You might have chills. Let your doctor know if you have this. They may be able to prescribe medicines to help.
You might lose weight while having this treatment. Let your doctor or nurse know and they can recommend ways of maintaining your weight. Or they can refer you to a dietitian.
Your nurse may find small amounts of blood and protein in your pee when they test it. This usually goes away on its own.
You may have high levels of a substance called creatinine in your blood, but this is less common. Creatinine is a waste product made by the muscles. The kidneys remove this from our blood and get rid of it in our urine.
Less commonly your kidneys may stop working. Let your healthcare team know if you are not peeing enough, breathless, feeling tired and weak, confused, feeling sick, or you have swelling on your legs, ankles and feet.
Rarely this treatment can cause small blood clots in the blood vessels inside the kidney. This is called haemolytic uremic syndrome. Symptoms can include bloody diarrhoea, weakness, high temperature or being sick.
You have regular blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working. Let your healthcare team know if you have any of these symptoms.
These side effects happen in between 1 and 10 out of every 100 people (between 1 and 10%). You might have one or more of them. They include:
sepsis - a serious reaction to an infection - signs can include feeling very unwell, not passing urine, being sick, a very high or very low temperature or shivering - contact your advice line straight away if you have any of these symptoms
watery eyes
heart problems such as a fast heart rate or your heart can’t pump the blood properly. Rarely you might have rhythm changes or a . Dial 999 straight away or get help if you have chest pain, pressure of discomfort. Other symptoms can include feeling lightheaded or dizzy, shortness of breath, fatigue, feeling or being sick, overwhelming anxiety, pain in other parts of the body and sweating
changes in blood pressure. Symptoms can include blurred vision, nosebleeds, dizziness, lightheaded or faint, headaches, shortness of breath and chest pain - you might feel flushed with a headache or faint and dizzy
blocked nose or runny nose. Rarely you might have a dry nose
dry mouth
mouth sores and ulcers
feeling bloated, tummy cramps, and diarrhoea due inflammation of your bowel (colitis)
tummy pains, feeling sick and constipation due to a blockage in your bowel
nail problems – they may become thicker, painful, discoloured or separate from the nail bed
swelling or pain at the drip site – let your team know about this straight away
feeling very drowsy and difficult to wake (somnolence) – do not drive or operate heavy machinery and if it becomes severe tell your doctor
inflammation of the , symptoms can include abdominal pain, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes and a high temperature
muscle weakness
sweating
a high temperature
These side effects happen in fewer than 1 in 100 people (less than 1%). You might have one or more of them. They include:
an allergic reaction that can cause a rash, shortness of breath, redness or swelling of the face and dizziness - some allergic reactions can be life threatening
a rare disorder of the nerves causing headaches, fits, confusion and changes in eyesight. This is called posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). This condition is reversible with treatment
swelling of the lining of the inside of your eyeball (retina) causing blurred or partial loss of sit in the middle of your eye
drooping on one side of your face (facial palsy)
blood clots that are life threatening; signs are pain, swelling and redness where the clot is. Feeling breathless can be a sign of a blood clot on the lung. Contact your advice line or doctor straight away if you have any of these symptoms
episodes of feeling warm and reddening of the skin (flushing)
dry throat
a change to the blood supply to the brain which can lead to a
leaking of fluid and proteins out of the blood vessels into the tissues
inflammation or loss of blood supply to the fingers and toes
There isn't enough information to work out how often these side effects might happen. You might have one or more of them. They include:
a condition where eosinophils, a type of cell usually found in the blood, collects in the lungs (pulmonary eosinophilia)
a sudden and severe skin reaction causing a red, scaly rash with swollen skin with bumps underneath blisters and a high temperature (fever)
skin redness and swelling (pseudocellulitis)
We have more information about side effects and tips on how to cope with them.
Read more about how to cope with side effects
Cancer drugs can interact with medicines, herbal products, and some food and drinks. We are unable to list all the possible interactions that may happen. An example is grapefruit or grapefruit juice which can increase the side effects of certain drugs.
Tell your healthcare team about any medicines you are taking. This includes vitamins, herbal supplements and over the counter remedies. Also let them know about any other medical conditions or allergies you may have.
This treatment may harm a baby developing in the womb. It is important not to become pregnant or get someone pregnant while you are having treatment.
Women must not become pregnant for at least 1 months after the end of treatment. Men should not get someone pregnant for at least 6 months after treatment.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about effective contraception before starting treatment. Let your team know straight away if you become pregnant while having treatment.
It is not known whether this treatment affects in people. Talk to your doctor before starting treatment if you think you may want to have a baby in the future.
Men might be able to store sperm before starting treatment. And women might be able to store eggs or ovarian tissue. But these services are not available in every hospital, so you would need to ask your doctor about this.
It is not known whether these drugs come through into the breast milk. Doctors usually advise that you don’t breastfeed during this treatment.
If you are having tests or treatment for anything else, always mention your cancer treatment. For example, if you are visiting your dentist.
Don’t have immunisations with live vaccines while you’re having treatment and for up to 12 months afterwards. The length of time depends on the treatment you are having.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist how long you should avoid live vaccinations.
In the UK, live vaccines include rubella, mumps, measles, BCG, and yellow fever.
You can usually have:
other vaccines, but they might not give you as much protection as usual
the flu vaccine (as an injection)
the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the best time to have a vaccine in relation to your cancer treatment.
You can be in contact with other people who have had live vaccines as injections. If someone has had a live vaccine by mouth or nasal spray there may be a small risk the vaccine virus can be passed onto you if your is weakened.
Your healthcare team will let you know if you need to take any precautions if you are in close contact with someone who has had a live vaccine.
Read more about immunisations and cancer treatment
For further information about this treatment and possible side effects go to the electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC) website. You can find the patient information leaflet on this website.
You can report any side effect you have to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as part of their Yellow Card Scheme.
Last reviewed: 04 Nov 2025
Next review due: 04 Nov 2028
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