A Glimpse of Targeted Therapy in Cancer Treatment

Targeted therapy refers to a type of cancer treatment that utilizes designed proteins to precisely target cancer-related molecules, thus controlling the growth, division and spread of cancer cells. Those proteins used in targeted therapy can range from small molecules that can easily get into a cell and locate internal cell targets, to monoclonal antibodies that are produced in lab to attach to specific targets found on the outside of cancer cells. Many of targeted therapy drugs can work as inhibitors that are capable of disrupting cell signals or cell functions to change cancer cell actions.    

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As most of cancers start from a gene mutation, scientists need to first identify the genetic changes that lead to tumor growth in order to develop a targeted therapy. A good candidate for treating a certain cancer would be a protein that exclusively present in cancerous cells but not normal ones.  For instance, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have been found in many breast cancer cases. This protein is the cause of breast cancer growth, thus not exists on health cells. Therefore, many therapies have been developed based on HER2-targeting, such as Trastuzumab, Pertuzumab, Neratinib and so on.  

However, targeted therapy does not always work in cancer treatment. To begin with, a targeted therapy can only work when the tumor has the target. Nevertheless, the genetic basis of many cancers remains unknown and a perfect exclusive target is hard to find in most cancer cases. Besides, cancerous cells are able to develop resistance to targeted therapy through the acquisition of resistance-conferring genetic mutations or reversible mechanisms that lead to drug tolerance. In the past decade, such drug-resistance has been observed in various cancers ranging from prostate and lung adenocarcinoma to melanoma and basal cell carcinoma.

References

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/targeted-therapy/what-is.html

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/targeted-therapies

https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/breast-cancer/types-treatment



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