Objective  To explore the action target and signal pathway of docetaxel in treatment of choriocarcinoma based on network pharmacology.

  Methods  The targets of docetaxel and choriocarcinoma were collected from Genecards database. The disease targets of choriocarcinoma and docetaxel drug targets were mapped, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network model of target was constructed, and the top 10 hub genes were screened. The network model of drug-disease targets was established by Cytoscape software. DAVID database was used for gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signal pathway enrichment analysis.

  Results  A total of 953 and 1 137 targets were found for docetaxel and choriocarcinoma respectively, the key targets of docetaxel in the treatment of choriocarcinoma included TP53, AKT1, CASP8, STAT3 and etc. Determined signal paths found by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis involved cancer pathway, apoptosis pathway, Focal Adhesion pathway, p53 and other signaling pathways.

  Conclusion  Docetaxel treating choriocarcinoma is achieved by regulating key genes such as TP53, AKT1 and STAT3 to regulate signaling pathways such as cancer pathway, apoptosis pathway and p53 pathway.