Docetaxel Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Apr 7, 2025.

Applies to docetaxel: intravenous solution.

Precautions

It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Receiving this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. If you are a woman who can get pregnant, your doctor may do tests to make sure you are not pregnant before receiving this medicine. It may also cause birth defects if the father is using it when his sexual partner becomes pregnant. Female patients should use effective birth control during treatment with this medicine and for 2 months after the last dose. Male patients who have female partners should use effective birth control during treatment with this medicine and for 4 months after the last dose. If you think you have become pregnant while receiving the medicine, tell your doctor right away.

Docetaxel can temporarily lower the number of white blood cells in your blood, increasing the chance of getting an infection. It can also lower the number of platelets, which are necessary for proper blood clotting. If this occurs, there are certain precautions you can take, especially when your blood count is low, to reduce the risk of infection or bleeding:

• If you can, avoid people with infections. Check with your doctor immediately if you think you are getting an infection or if you get a fever or chills, cough or hoarseness, lower back or side pain, or painful or difficult urination.
• Check with your doctor immediately if you notice any unusual bleeding or bruising, black, tarry stools, blood in the urine or stools, or pinpoint red spots on your skin.
• Be careful when using a regular toothbrush, dental floss, or toothpick. Your medical doctor, dentist, or nurse may recommend other ways to clean your teeth and gums. Check with your medical doctor before having any dental work done.
• Do not touch your eyes or the inside of your nose unless you have just washed your hands and have not touched anything else in the meantime.
• Be careful not to cut yourself when you are using sharp objects such as a safety razor or fingernail or toenail cutters.
• Avoid contact sports or other situations where bruising or injury could occur.

This medicine may cause stomach or bowel problems (eg, enterocolitis, neutropenic colitis), which may be life-threatening. Check with your doctor right away if you have fever, severe stomach pain, vomiting, stomach cramps or tenderness, or watery or bloody diarrhea.

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you have a rash, itching, fever or chills, trouble breathing or swallowing, a fast or irregular heartbeat, or any swelling of your hands, face, mouth, or throat with this medicine.

Docetaxel may cause edema or fluid retention, which means your body is keeping too much water. Check with your doctor right away if you have a rapid weight gain, trouble breathing, chest pain or discomfort, extreme tiredness or weakness, irregular breathing, an irregular heartbeat, or excessive swelling of the hands, wrist, ankles, or feet.

This medicine may increase your or your child's risk for other cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), or kidney cancer. Talk with your doctor if you have concerns about this.

Serious skin reactions (eg, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis) can occur with this medicine. Tell your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Check with your doctor right away if you have burning, numbness, tingling, or painful sensations in the arms, hands, legs, or feet. These could be symptoms of a condition called peripheral neuropathy.

Tell your doctor right away if you have vision changes, including blurred vision, difficulty reading, or eye pain with this medicine. These could be symptoms of a serious eye problem called cystoid macular edema. Your doctor may want your eyes be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).

Docetaxel may cause severe lack or loss of strength, which can last a few days up to several weeks. Tell your doctor if you unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine contains alcohol and may cause some people to become drowsy, dizzy, or less alert than they are normally. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.

Talk with your doctor before receiving this medicine if you plan to have children. Some men who receive this medicine have become infertile (unable to have children).

This medicine may cause a serious type of reaction called tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). Your doctor may give you a medicine to help prevent this. Call your doctor right away if you have a decrease or change in urine amount, joint pain, stiffness, or swelling, lower back, side, or stomach pain, a rapid weight gain, swelling of the feet or lower legs, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Serious side effects of docetaxel

Along with its needed effects, docetaxel may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking docetaxel:

Other side effects of docetaxel

Some side effects of docetaxel may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to docetaxel: intravenous powder for injection, intravenous solution.

General adverse events

The most common adverse reactions across all indications include infections, neutropenia, anemia, febrile neutropenia, hypersensitivity, thrombocytopenia, neuropathy, dysgeusia, dyspnea, constipation, anorexia, nail disorders, fluid retention, asthenia, pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, mucositis, alopecia, skin reactions, and myalgia.^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Very common (10% or more): Neutropenia (99%), leukopenia (99%), thrombocytopenia (39%), anemia (94%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Hemorrhage
• Postmarketing reports: Bleeding episodes, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)^[Ref]

The major dose-limiting toxicity of this drug is reversible marrow suppression. In clinical trials, the median time to nadir was 7 days, and the median duration of severe neutropenia (less than 500 cells/mm3) was 7 days.

Hematologic toxicity is increased at higher doses and in patients with elevated baseline liver function tests.^[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

• Very common (10% or more): Hypersensitivity (33%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe hypersensitivity
• Frequency not reported: Flushing, rash with or without pruritus, chest tightness, back pain, dyspnea, drug fever, chills
• Postmarketing reports: Anaphylactic shock^[Ref]

Severe hypersensitivity reactions have been reported. Minor events, including flushing, rash with or without pruritus, chest tightness, back pain, dyspnea, drug fever, or chills have been reported and after discontinuation of the infusion and instituting treatment as necessary, have resolved.^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

• Very common (10% or more): Fluid retention (60%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe fluid retention, hypotension, lymphedema, phlebitis, hypertension
• Rare (less than 0.1%): Heart failure, sinus tachycardia, atrial flutter, dysrhythmia, unstable angina, pulmonary edema
• Postmarketing reports: Atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, ECG abnormalities, pulmonary embolism, syncope, tachycardia, myocardial infarction, chest pain^[Ref]

Dermatologic

• Very common (10% or more): Alopecia (98%), cutaneous reactions (54%), nail changes (41%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe cutaneous reactions, severe nail changes, rash
• Rare (less than 0.1%): Onycholysis
• Postmarketing reports: Very rare cases of cutaneous lupus erythematosus, rare cases of bullous eruptions such as erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and Scleroderma-like changes usually preceded by peripheral lymphedema, severe hand and foot syndrome, radiation recall^[Ref]

Cutaneous reactions including severe skin toxicity has been reported. Reversible cutaneous reactions include rash mainly on the feet and/or hands, or on the arms, face, or thorax. This is usually accompanied by pruritus. Eruptions generally occur within 1 week of receiving the drug and resolve before the next infusion.^[Ref]

Nervous system

• Very common (10% or more): Neurosensory events (58%), dizziness (16%), headache, hypoesthesia
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe neurosensory events
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Somnolence
• Frequency not reported: Paresthesia, dysesthesia, neuromotor weakness,
• Postmarketing reports: Confusion, seizures or transient loss of consciousness^[Ref]

Oncologic

• Postmarketing reports: Acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplasic syndrome^[Ref]

The cumulative risk of developing treatment-related acute myeloid leukemia appears to be similar to the risk observed for other anthracyclines/cyclophosphamide containing adjuvant breast chemotherapy regimens.^[Ref]

Hepatic

• Very common (10% or more): Transaminase elevations, (19%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Bilirubin elevations, alkaline phosphatase elevations, transaminase elevations in combination with alkaline phosphatase elevations
• Postmarketing reports: Hepatitis^[Ref]

Among patients with normal liver function tests at baseline, elevations in bilirubin occurred in 8.9%, increases in AST or ALT to greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (1.5 x ULN), or increases in alkaline phosphatase to greater than 2.5 x ULN occurred in 18.9% and 7.3%, respectively. Increases in AST and/or ALT to greater than 1.5 x ULN concurrently with alkaline phosphatase elevations to greater than 2.5 x ULN occurred in 4.3% of patients. It is unknown whether these changes were drug related or related to the underlying disease condition.^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Very common (10% or more): Stomatitis (52%), nausea (42%), vomiting (23%), diarrhea (43%), constipation (25%), esophagitis/dysphagia/odynophagia (16%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe gastrointestinal events, severe stomatitis, gastrointestinal pain and cramping, dry mouth
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, severe abdominal pain, severe esophagitis
• Postmarketing reports: Duodenal ulcer, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, gastrointestinal perforation, ischemic colitis, colitis, intestinal obstruction, ileus, neutropenic enterocolitis, dehydration^[Ref]

Considering all tumor types, stomatitis has been reported in 42% of patients with normal LFTs at baseline and 49% of patients with elevated LFTs. Severe stomatitis has been reported in 6% of patients with normal LFTs at baseline and 13% of patients with elevated LFTs. Stomatitis appears to be dose dependent.^[Ref]

Other

• Very common (10% or more): Asthenia (up to 66%), severe asthenia (up to 25%), febrile neutropenia (up to 26%), fever in absence of infection (up to 47%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Non-septic death, impaired hearing
• Postmarketing reports: Ototoxicity, hearing disorders^[Ref]

Local

• Common (1% to 10%): Infusion site reactions
• Frequency not reported: Hyperpigmentation, inflammation, redness or dryness of the skin, phlebitis, extravasation, swelling of the vein^[Ref]

Infusion reactions were generally mild and consisted of hyperpigmentation, inflammation, redness or dryness of the skin, phlebitis, extravasation, or swelling of the vein.^[Ref]

Ocular

• Very common (10% or more): Lacrimation disorder (11%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Conjunctivitis
• Postmarketing reports: Cystoid macular edema, transient visual disturbances occurring during drug infusion and in association with hypersensitivity reactions (have been reversible upon discontinuation of the infusion)^[Ref]

Respiratory

• Very common (10% or more): Cough, rhinorrhea, pharyngolaryngeal pain
• Common (1% to 10%): Epistaxis, pneumonia, dyspnea
• Postmarketing reports: Acute pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome/pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease, interstitial pneumonia, respiratory failure, and pulmonary fibrosis, rare cases of radiation pneumonitis in patients receiving concomitant radiotherapy^[Ref]

Renal

• Postmarketing reports: Renal insufficiency and renal failure (majority of these cases associated with concomitant nephrotoxic drugs)^[Ref]

Metabolic

• Very common (10% or more): Weight gain (15%), weight loss (21%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Anorexia
• Postmarketing reports: Hyponatremia^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

• Very common (10% or more): Myalgia (33%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe myalgia, arthralgia, bone pain, back pain^[Ref]

Immunologic

• Very common (10% or more): Infections (33%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Severe infections, septic death, oral candidiasis^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Very common (10% or more): Insomnia^[Ref]

Endocrine

• Very common (10% or more): Amenorrhea (62%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Menstrual irregularities^[Ref]

See also:

Frequently asked questions

• What is the TC chemo regimen and how does it treat breast cancer?
• What is the FLOT chemotherapy regimen and how does it work?

Further information

Docetaxel side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

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