Targeted therapy is a new and evolving cancer treatment approach that focuses on attacking specific molecules or pathways essential for cancer cell growth and survival. Unlike traditional treatments like chemotherapy, which affects healthy cells and cancerous cells, targeted therapy aims to minimize the damage by being precise.
This approach helps in reducing side effects and offering more effective outcomes for the patients. By understanding the biology behind each of the various cancer types, targeted therapy is a big step towards better-personalised treatment plans for cancer patients.
How Does Targeted Therapy Work?
Targeted therapy works by disrupting specific proteins, genes, or pathways that cancer cells depend on to grow and spread throughout the body. It does so by:
- Blocking signals that initiate cancer cells to divide.
- Preventing blood vessels from providing to tumors.
- Triggering the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells.
This approach ensures that the treatment is more effective as it addresses the root cause of the cancer rather than just managing its symptoms.
Types of targeted therapy
There are two primary types of targeted therapy:
- Small Molecule Drugs: These enter into cells to block signals that initiate and continuously allow cancer cells to grow.
- Monoclonal Antibodies: These attach to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells, marking them to be destroyed by the immune system.
The method or type of treatment is chosen based on the type of cancer the patient has and the molecular profile of the tumor.
Role of biomarkers
Biomarkers play a critical role in targeted therapy as these are indicators, such as specific proteins or genetic mutations that help doctors to understand a patient’s cancer at a molecular level. By identifying biomarkers, specialists can create treatments to suit an individual’s molecular profile of cancer and ensure higher success rates.
Improvements and continuous research in biomarkers have made targeted therapy increasingly effective and more accessible for patients with different types of cancer where the traditional methods of cancer treatment are not working.
Types of cancers that targeted therapy can treat
Targeted therapy has shown promising results in treating several types of cancer, including:
- Brain cancer
- Breast cancer
- Gastrointestinal cancers
- Kidney cancer
- Leukaemia
- Lung cancer
- Melanoma
- Mesothelioma
- Myeloma
- Prostate cancer
- Thyroid cancer
Advantages of this type of therapy
Targeted therapy offers several advantages over conventional methods like chemotherapy such as:
- Targets only cancer cells and avoids healthy tissues.
- Reduces harm to the rest of the body.
- Better results for certain types of cancers.
For many patients, this approach improves their quality of life during and after treatment as it doesn’t tend to take a significant physical toll on their mental and physical health.
Challenges and limitations
Targeted therapy isn’t without any challenges:
- Cancer cells may evolve to be resistant to the treatment.
- Genetic testing and such personalized drugs can be expensive.
- Not all cancers respond to targeted therapies.
Combination treatments
Combining targeted therapy with other approaches, like immunotherapy or chemotherapy, has shown great potential. These combinations often give better outcomes, especially for advanced cancers that show no improvement after treatments, hence highlighting the importance of intradisciplinary care.
Delhi has become a leading destination for advanced cancer care, offering modern technology and experienced specialists. With access to facilities that provide for genetic testing and biomarker identification, they make sure that patients receive personalized treatment plans. For those seeking the best cancer treatment in Delhi, they offer a combination of experience and infrastructure that makes it a preferred choice for targeted therapy.
The future of targeted therapy is focused on making treatments more precise and accessible for patients. Ongoing research aims to expand the types of cancers that can benefit from this approach. With such developments, the targeted therapy approach is becoming a more important tool in cancer therapy by offering more effective options for patients.
