How Does Targeted Therapy Work?

Why this resource is helpful:

"Targeted therapy uses a drug or substance that blocks the growth of cancer. Doctors identify certain biomarkers and target them. Biomarkers are specific molecules that exist only in the tumor's cells and are not present in healthy tissue. They differ significantly from drugs used in chemotherapy; rather than killing the cancer, the goal is to prevent it from growing further. It is part of the foundation of precision medicine and is a type of treatment that typically targets proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread.
Targeted therapies can:
Cut off the hormones your cancer is using to grow.
Encourage cell death in cancer cells.
Deliver cell-killing substances to specific cancer cells.
Signal the blood to stop creating blood vessels that your tumor needs to grow.
Slow and stop the growth of cancer cells.
Trigger your immune system to target and attack cancer cells.
The choice of targeted therapy depends on the type of tumor, not its location. In the past, lung cancer and breast cancer, for example, have been seen as very different diseases, but targeted therapy changes this. The same treatment might be used for colon and stomach cancer, providing the tumors use the same biomarkers."

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