Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that relies on the genetic changes or mutations that cause healthy cells to become cancerous. Healthcare providers test for genetic abnormalities that enable cancer cells to grow and survive in order to use targeted therapy. Then they find precise medicines to destroy or stop certain cells from multiplying.

Targeted therapy allows doctors to treat cancer cells while avoiding harming healthy cells. More than 80 targeted medicines have been developed by healthcare practitioners to treat a variety of cancers. Targeted therapy is sometimes used as a first-line or initial treatment. They may also use targeted therapy in conjunction with other therapies.

How Targeted Therapy Works

Healthcare practitioners can identify specific cancer cell components to target for treatment after they understand the genetic mutation that turns a healthy cell into a cancer cell. These are sometimes targets on the surfaces of cancer cells. Occasionally, the targets are chemicals found within cancer cells. The below are two most prevalent types of targeted therapies and how they work to treat cancer:

• Small-molecule medicines:

  are small enough to enter cancer cells and kill them. These medicines bind to specific targets on cancer cells and stop them from growing or killing them. Small molecule medications are easily identifiable since their generic names finish in “-ib.” Imatinib (Gleevec), for example, is used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and other cancers by preventing tumor cells from receiving signals that tell them to develop.

• Monoclonal antibodies:

  are too big to get into cells. Instead, they attack targets on the outside of cells or right around them. They are cloned replicas of your antibodies generated in a lab. Antibodies are a component of the immune system. They’re proteins that search your body for intruder proteins (antigens), which can come from infections or cancer cells. Antibodies attack these antigens in order to eliminate the invaders.

  They’re sometimes used to deliver chemo and radiation directly to the cancer cells. In a hospital or clinic, you normally get them through an IV in a vein in your arm.

Which Cancers can Targeted Therapy treat?

More than 80 targeted medicines have been developed by healthcare practitioners to treat a variety of cancers. They’ve also created tailored medicines to tackle distinct mutations that are associated with the same type of cancer. Targeted therapy may be used to treat the following forms of cancer:

• Blood Cancers– Leukemia, Multiple myeloma, Lymphoma
• Brain Cancers– Glioblastoma, Neuroblastoma
• Thyroid cancers– Anaplastic thyroid cancer, Medullary thyroid cancer, Papillary/follicular thyroid cancer
• Reproductive system cancers– Cervical cancer, Endometrial cancer, Prostate cancer
• Lung cancers– Non-small cell lung cancer, Small cell lung cancer
• Head and neck cancers– Oral cancer, Nasopharyngeal cancer, Oropharyngeal cancer, Laryngeal cancer
• Digestive system cancers– Colorectal cancer, Esophageal cancer, Neuroendocrine tumors, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Pancreatic cancer, Stomach cancer, Hepatocellular (liver) cancer, gallbladder cancer
• Breast cancers– BRCA gene mutation breast cancer, HER2-positive breast cancer, Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, Triple negative breast cancer

Who requires Targeted Therapy?

Some cancers, such as CML, virtually always have a target on which treatment can be focused. Your doctor may, however, need to test your tumor to discover if it contains any targets. They may do a biopsy, which involves taking a small sample of the tumor and analyzing it in a lab.

Even if you have the same form of cancer as someone else, the target may be different. HER2-positive breast tumors are not all the same. If you have the KRAS gene mutation, targeted colon cancer drugs such cetuximab (Erbitux) will not work.

You may need to try other therapies before your doctor offers a targeted therapy. Targeted therapy is frequently used in conjunction with other treatments.