Medical Oncology
Targeted Therapy
What is Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer that uses specific drugs to target cancer cells without causing any damage to normal cells. In particular, these drugs target specific parts of cancer cells, such as proteins or genes, which specifically promote the growth of cancer in the body. In some cases of cancer, targeted therapy proves to be very useful.
Types of Targeted Therapy
There are two types of target therapy offered at our clinic in Kolkata, including monoclonal antibodies and small molecular drugs. Small molecular drugs and monoclonal antibodies are commonly used for cancer treatment in Kolkata:
Hormone Therapy: This type of therapy focuses on preventing the person from producing hormones that support the development of breast and prostate cancer or prevent other healthy hormones from working effectively.
Signal Transduction Inhibitors: This is the most common type of targeted therapy. In this particular treatment, doctors restrict the signals that promote cell abnormal division.
Gene Expression Modulator: This particular type of targeted therapy is more focused on protein replacement that controls how cancer cells are executed due to abnormalities.
Apoptosis Inductors: Apoptosis is a natural process by which healthy cells die when they age or are damaged. However, the purpose of apoptosis inducer targeted therapy is to find a way around this natural process of the body. It makes the cancer cells to follow the natural process of apoptosis.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors: In this form of targeted therapy, the blood vessels that supply nutrients and oxygen to cancer cells are blocked.
Immunotherapy: This special treatment uses the body’s immune system to kill the cancer cells. In some cases, the immune system is strengthened to fight cancer cells. Alternatively, the immune system can be trained to identify and fight cancer cells.
Limitations of Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is not entirely successful in all cases, says the best cancer specialist in Kolkata. They also have specific limitations. One limitation is that cancer cells may eventually become resistant to the treatment. Resistance can basically take two forms – first when the target modifies the mutation to block the interaction of the therapy. Alternatively, it can also find a new way to develop a tumour, which does not depend on the target. Because of these limitations, targeted therapy is always considered to provide the best results when combined with other treatment plans.