Targeted Therapies
What is a targeted therapy?
A targeted therapy is newer form of treatment which stops the growth and spread of cancer cells by specifically acting on molecules or targets on a cancer cell.
Targeted therapies can work in one of multiple ways, by either:
- Preventing, blocking or interrupting cell growth
- Cutting the blood supply to a tumour
- Targeting defects in the cancer cells
- Carrying other drugs to / into the tumour
- Causing cell death
- Making the cancer cells more receptive to the immune system
What is the difference between targeted therapies and traditional chemotherapy?
The difference between targeted treatment and traditional chemotherapy is that targeted treatments kill only the cancer cells (found by identifying specific molecules on the surface of the cancer cell) whereas chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells. Targeted therapies often have fewer side effects than chemotherapies and the side effects are quite different to those experienced by having chemotherapy alone.
Targeted therapies and breast cancer
Targeted therapies have been used in breast cancer for at least the past 10 years and initially only involved targeting the HER2 receptor. In the present time, breast cancer research is largely focused on establishing new targeted therapies and testing them in certain subtypes of breast cancer. Whilst there are many different agents currently being tested, the main ones in clinical trial phase are immunotherapies or agents which target the mTOR pathway, CDK 4/6 or PIK3CA.
The most commonly used targeted therapies in breast cancer relate to the HER2 receptor. These are Herceptin, Tykerb, Kadcyla & Pertuzumab. Click here for information about the anti-HER2 therapies.
For information on other targeted therapies used in breast cancer, see my page on other targeted therapies.
A targeted therapy is newer form of treatment which stops the growth and spread of cancer cells by specifically acting on molecules or targets on a cancer cell.
Targeted therapies can work in one of multiple ways, by either:
- Preventing, blocking or interrupting cell growth
- Cutting the blood supply to a tumour
- Targeting defects in the cancer cells
- Carrying other drugs to / into the tumour
- Causing cell death
- Making the cancer cells more receptive to the immune system
What is the difference between targeted therapies and traditional chemotherapy?
The difference between targeted treatment and traditional chemotherapy is that targeted treatments kill only the cancer cells (found by identifying specific molecules on the surface of the cancer cell) whereas chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells. Targeted therapies often have fewer side effects than chemotherapies and the side effects are quite different to those experienced by having chemotherapy alone.
Targeted therapies and breast cancer
Targeted therapies have been used in breast cancer for at least the past 10 years and initially only involved targeting the HER2 receptor. In the present time, breast cancer research is largely focused on establishing new targeted therapies and testing them in certain subtypes of breast cancer. Whilst there are many different agents currently being tested, the main ones in clinical trial phase are immunotherapies or agents which target the mTOR pathway, CDK 4/6 or PIK3CA.
The most commonly used targeted therapies in breast cancer relate to the HER2 receptor. These are Herceptin, Tykerb, Kadcyla & Pertuzumab. Click here for information about the anti-HER2 therapies.
For information on other targeted therapies used in breast cancer, see my page on other targeted therapies.