Which cell division process is targeted by taxane-based chemotherapy in many solid tumors?

• A. Meiosis
• B. Binary fission
• C. Mitosis
• D. Apoptosis

Answer: (C)

Disrupting cell division by interfering with the mitotic spindle is what taxane chemotherapy does. Taxanes bind to tubulin and stabilize microtubules, locking them in place so they cannot shorten and reassemble as needed during mitosis. Because mitosis relies on dynamic microtubules to form the spindle and separate chromosomes, this stabilization prevents cells from progressing from metaphase to anaphase. The result is prolonged mitotic arrest, which often triggers cell death. This targets rapidly dividing tumor cells in solid cancers.

Meiosis and binary fission are different division processes in other organisms, not the ones targeted here, and apoptosis is a controlled cell death pathway that may follow mitotic arrest rather than being the division process itself being directly targeted.