A drug used on the skin to treat several skin conditions. It is also being studied in the treatment of basal cell skin cancer and basal cell nevus syndrome. Tazarotene is related to vitamin A and is made in the laboratory. It turns on a gene that may help stop the growth of skin cancer cells. Tazarotene is a type of synthetic retinoid. Also called Avage and Tazorac. OR A synthetic, topical retinoid. Tazarotene induces the expression of tazarotene-induced gene 3 (TIG3), a tumor suppressor gene. In psoriasis, tazarotene normalizes abnormal keratinocyte differentiation and reduces their hyperproliferation.