These results indicated that GSDME cleavage and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 proteins occurred in breast cancer cells with high GSDME expression after paclitaxel treatment, suggesting that GSDME may mediate paclitaxel-induced pyroptosis in breast cancer cells through the caspase-9/caspase-3 pathway. The gene discussed is CASP9; the disease is breast carcinoma.