Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapies are not without side effects. They can still have so-called “on-target” and “off-target” side effects. They're just different from cytotoxic chemotherapy - Dejan Juric MD
HWN Suggests
How understanding breast cancer at a molecular level is revolutionising our thinking
Targeted therapies tend to target a specific protein or receptor found in tumour cells making the treatment selective and more effective. So while HER2 positive breast cancers have a poorer prognosis, treatment has improved through targeted therapies such as Herceptin, which fights against cancer cells by suppressing the function of HER2 to prevent tumour growth.
Unlike chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which affects both normal and cancerous cells, using targeted therapy reduces overall side effects. But it isn’t perfect – some patients still don’t respond to targeted therapy and there can be resistance to the drug in some cases. New technology such as proton beam therapy may provide a…
Featured
Breast cancer drug cuts risk of most common form returning by 25%
Ribociclib is a targeted therapy called a small molecule inhibitor. It works by targeting proteins in breast cancer cells called CDK4 and CDK6, which modulate cell growth, including the growth of cancer cells.
How Targeted Therapies Are Changing the Breast Cancer Treatment Landscape
Precision medicine is a new approach to treat cancers, by trying to match the right treatment with a patient, and do that at the right time in the course of the treatment, using novel genomic tools to help us understand what is unique about their cancer, what is the particular vulnerability of that cancer, so that we can increase the chance of treatment actually working.
Articles of Interest
Molecular targeted therapies for breast cancer treatment
Treatments of breast cancer continue to evolve rapidly. New scientific and clinical achievements are constantly changing the standard of care and have already led to substantial reductions in breast cancer mortality. Despite encouraging preclinical data, some of the molecular targeted agents ('biologicals') have yielded low response rates in the clinical setting.
What Are Anti-HER2 Therapies?
Anti-HER2 therapies (also called HER2 inhibitors or HER2-targeted therapies) are a class of medicines used to treat all stages of HER2-positive breast cancer and certain HER2-low breast cancers.
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Herceptin (Trastuzumab)
Herceptin (Trastuzumab) is the first humanized antibody approved for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Herceptin is designed to target and block the function of HER2 protein overexpression.
Breaat Cancer Now
Targeted therapy, also called biological therapy, is the name given to a group of drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer. They target and interfere with processes in the cells that help cancer grow.
Breastcancer.org
Targeted cancer therapies are treatments that target specific characteristics of cancer cells, such as a protein that allows the cancer cells to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. Targeted therapies are generally less likely than chemotherapy to harm normal, healthy cells. Some targeted therapies are antibodies that work like the antibodies made naturally by our immune systems. These types of targeted therapies are sometimes called immune targeted therapies.
Paris Breast Center
Targeted therapies are drugs that block specific mechanisms in certain cancer cells. They are chosen according to the “identity card” of the cancer, by targeting specific molecules present on the surface or inside the cancer cells. By acting specifically on one of these molecules, tumor development is interrupted while limiting the harmful effects of treatment.
