Targeted therapy

Procedure description

Targeted therapy is a pharmaceutical treatment for cancer that focuses specifically on the primary tumor and its metastases. The main goal of this therapy is to precisely attack the tumor by making its cells vulnerable and weak. Unlike chemotherapy, targeted therapy acts exclusively on cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. This method is used only for certain types of tumors that exhibit specific genetic alterations, for example, HER2-positive breast cancer or melanoma with a BRAF gene mutation. It is most often used in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Targeted therapy is also used in pediatric oncology — for example, ALK inhibitors are prescribed for children with neuroblastoma when a mutation in that gene is identified. For more on how pediatric oncology differs from adult oncology and which treatment methods are most effective today, see «Cancer in children is aggressive but more treatable: Everything you need to know about pediatric oncology».

Mechanism of action of targeted agents

1. Targeted agents suppress the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumor. Cancer cells grow rapidly and require an adequate blood supply. The tumor stimulates angiogenesis, and targeted drugs block this process.
2. Targeted agents bind to specific receptors on the surface of cancer cells, penetrate through the cell membrane, and exert toxic effects on intracellular organelles, leading to cell death.
3. These agents help the immune system recognize and attack malignant tumors, effectively “training” the immune system to manage the cancer independently.
4. The regulation of cell growth and division occurs through a series of biochemical signals involving enzymes and biologically active molecules. Some of these substances differ between healthy tissue and tumor tissue. Targeted cancer therapy disrupts this signaling cascade, blocking tumor growth factors and depriving the tumor of its ability to survive.

A distinct direction in the development of targeted therapy is the use of modified stem cells as vectors to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to the site of disease, minimizing toxic effects on healthy tissue. Read more about this approach in our article, «Stem Cell Treatment: Heart, Cancer, and the CNS».