Taxoids are a class of derivatives from taxol,[1] that is, paclitaxel. They were developed for their anticancer chemotherapeutic properties. Taxoids are usually treated as synonymous with taxanes; for example, a major medical dictionary defines the two terms with the same definition phrasing, and in another the phrasing varies slightly but conveys nearly identical meaning.
Taxoids are chemically taxane-derived diterpenoids, which do occur in nature, in the genera Taxus and Austrotaxus of yew trees.[2] The taxoids class and the taxanes class both include paclitaxel (trade names Taxol, Abraxane, Onxol, Nov-Onxol) and docetaxel (trade names Taxotere, Docecad).