Advancing Breast Cancer: Strategies to Counteract Taxane Resistance in Her2-Positive and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Resistance is one of the major problems in chemotherapy during Breast Cancer (BC) treatment. Earlier treatments, such as radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy including taxane-based therapies like paclitaxel and docetaxel, play a crucial role in managing BC, particularly in aggressive subtypes like Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 (HER-2) positive and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Taxanes disrupt cell division by stabilizing microtubules, inducing apoptosis in rapidly dividing cancer cells. However, challenges arise due to drug resistance mechanisms, including alterations in microtubule dynamics, drug efflux, mutations in tubulin, Autophagy and survival pathway activation. Recent advancements in nanotechnology, such as nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, have shown effect result in improving solubility, stability, and tumor selectivity, enhancing their therapeutic efficacy. By enabling targeted therapy, combination therapy and overcoming multidrug resistance, nanomedicine offers a promising approach to improve outcomes in resistant BC cases. This review examines the mechanisms of action of taxanes and resistance caused and discusses the role of various therapeutic strategies to overcoming treatment barriers in BC.