What is a targeted drug therapy?
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to precisely identify and attack certain types of cancer cells. A targeted therapy can be used by itself or in combination with other treatments, such as traditional or standard chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation therapy.
What are examples of targeted therapy?
Many different targeted therapies have been approved for use in cancer treatment. These therapies include hormone therapies, signal transduction inhibitors, gene expression modulators, apoptosis inducers, angiogenesis inhibitors, immunotherapies, and toxin delivery molecules.
How do targeted therapy drugs work?
How targeted therapy works. Targeted therapy targets the molecules that send signals that tell cancer cells to grow or divide. By targeting these molecules, the drugs block their signals and stop the growth and spread of cancer cells while harming normal cells as little as possible.
What are the benefits of targeted therapy?
Benefits of Targeted Therapy Alter proteins within cancer cells that cause those cells to die. Prevent new blood vessels from forming, which cuts off blood supply to your tumor. Tell your immune system to attack the cancer cells. Deliver toxins that kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
Why is targeted therapy used?
Targeted therapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to target specific genes and proteins that are involved in the growth and survival of cancer cells. Targeted therapy can affect the tissue environment that helps a cancer grow and survive or it can target cells related to cancer growth, like blood vessel cells.
What are the side effects of targeted therapy?
The most common side effects of targeted therapy include diarrhea and liver problems. Other side effects might include problems with blood clotting and wound healing, high blood pressure, fatigue, mouth sores, nail changes, the loss of hair color, and skin problems. Skin problems might include rash or dry skin.
When is targeted therapy recommended?
Targeted therapy can affect the tissue environment that helps a cancer grow and survive or it can target cells related to cancer growth, like blood vessel cells. Doctors often use targeted therapy along with chemotherapy and other treatments.
How long can you live on targeted therapy?
People with advanced and metastatic NSCLC that responds to targeted therapies or checkpoint inhibitors now routinely survive for three or four years after diagnosis, Mok says, and a lucky few live substantially longer.