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Annette Leal Mattern
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Targeted Cancer Therapies – The Future of Cancer Treatment?

Targeted therapy drugs are a lot like Navy Seals behind enemy lines: stealth and clandestine operatives with different specialties. They create very strategic problems for their target: cancer. And they’re so good at it that they may be the next beachhead in the war on cancer.

First, cancer cell profiles are analyzed at the molecular level and, once a specific target can be identified, a drug is designed to make it malfunction. Some rewire the intricate network of signals that govern how the tumor communicates growth instructions. Blocking these signals can stop the disease progression and, in some cases, actually cause the cancer to self destruct.

I participated in a clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody drug that did exactly this. Its code name was APOMAB, which stood for Apoptosis (or cell suicide) and MAB for monoclonal antibodies (cloned antibodies of a single type). And, because it was engineered to affect cancer cells, it ignored healthy ones. It was nothing like chemo at all.

Many targeted therapies are available to cancer patients now, such as those targeting the cellular receptor for estrogen.

We value and respect the experiences of all of our HerWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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