_targeted Cancer Therapy: The Next Generation of Cancer Treatment

Title:_targeted Cancer Therapy: The Next Generation of Cancer Treatment

Volume: 12 Issue: 1

Author(s): Troy A. Baudino

Affiliation:

Keywords: Cancer therapies, chemotherapy, immunotoxins, monoclonal antibodies, small molecule inhibitors.

Abstract: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States along with heart disease. The hallmark of cancer treatment has been conventional chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic drugs are designed to _target not only rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, but also certain normal cells, such as intestinal epithelium. Over the past several years, a new generation of cancer treatment has come to the forefront, i.e, _targeted cancer therapies. Like conventional chemotherapy, _targeted cancer therapies use pharmacological agents that inhibit growth, increase cell death and restrict the spread of cancer. As the name suggests, _targeted therapies interfere with specific proteins involved in tumorigenesis. Rather than using broad base cancer treatments, focusing on specific molecular changes which are unique to a particular cancer, _targeted cancer therapies may be more therapeutically beneficial for many cancer types, including lung, colorectal, breast, lymphoma and leukemia. Moreover, recent advances have made it possible to analyze and tailor treatments to an individual patient’s tumor. There are three main types of _targeted cancer therapies; 1) monoclonal antibodies, 2) small molecule inhibitors and 3) immunotoxins. This review will discuss these three classes of _targeted therapies in detail, as well as the biology behind _targeted cancer therapies.

Cite this article as:

Baudino A. Troy, _targeted Cancer Therapy: The Next Generation of Cancer Treatment, Current Drug Discovery Technologies 2015; 12 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570163812666150602144310