China 
Africa 
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Glossary of scientific and technical terms in bioengineering and biological engineering
Published in Megh R. Goyal, Scientific and Technical Terms in Bioengineering and Biological Engineering, 2018
Targeted therapy or molecularly targeted therapy is a type of medication that blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted molecules needed for carcinogenesis and tumor growth, rather than by simply interfering with all rapidly dividing cells (e.g., with traditional chemotherapy). Radiotherapy is not considered a ‘targeted therapy’ despite its often being aimed at the tumors. Targeted cancer therapies are expected to be more effective than current treatments and less harmful to normal cells. There are targeted therapies for breast cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, prostate cancer, melanoma and other cancers.
Nanoparticulate Systems for Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy
Published in Devarajan Thangadurai, Saher Islam, Jeyabalan Sangeetha, Natália Cruz-Martins, Biogenic Nanomaterials, 2023
Ana Cláudia Pimenta, Luísa Nascimento, Natália Cruz-Martins
Briefly, cancer cells biology generally involves the overexpression of certain pathways and cell surface receptors, and it is possible to identify such pathways for the various types of LC (Alhajj et al., 2018). Targeted therapy is a designation applied to treatments that aim to block or induce those specific cellular pathways overexpressed or mutated in cancer cells, triggering their apoptosis, stimulating the immune response against them, or aiming at the delivery of cytotoxic agents (Pérez-Herrero and Fernández-Medarde, 2015).
SGT-53: A Novel Nanomedicine Capable of Augmenting Cancer Immunotherapy
Published in Raj Bawa, János Szebeni, Thomas J. Webster, Gerald F. Audette, Immune Aspects of Biopharmaceuticals and Nanomedicines, 2019
Joe B. Harford, Sang-Soo Kim, Kathleen F. Pirollo, Antonina Rait, Esther H. Chang
For decades, cancers have been treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or some combination of these modalities. As our understanding of the molecular pathways operative in cancer cells has grown, the field of targeted therapeutics (i.e., “precision medicine”) has emerged [1]. The term “targeted therapy” in oncology generally refers to the use of agents that block the growth and spread of cancer cells by interfering with specific molecules (“molecular targets”) that are involved in the cancer growth, progression, and spread [2]. Targeted therapeutics can be designed with an intended target in view or be based on lead compounds that were detected via screening assays based on the particular molecular target. Underlying the field of targeted therapeutics is the assumption that if a molecular target is preferentially found in the cancer cells or if it is in some fashion distinct from its counterpart in normal cells, the targeted therapeutic may have the ability to impede the growth or survival of cancer cells with less harm to normal cells than generally seen with traditional chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Targeted therapeutics can be small molecules e.g., imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®/Glivec®, formerly called STI571) inhibits the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase that is found specifically in chronic myeloid leukemia but not in normal cells [3, 4]. Targeted therapeutics can also take the form of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to its cognate antigen on cancer cells to exert a therapeutic effect. For example, rituximab (Rituxan®), the first therapeutic antibody approved for cancer by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), binds to the B-cell antigen CD20 [5, 6]. Other examples of therapeutic mAbs include trastuzumab (Herceptin®), which recognizes the HER2 molecules found on some breast cancer and certain other malignancies [7, 8], and bevacizumab (Avastin®), which recognizes VEGF involved in the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) that supply tumors [9, 10].
Statistical modelling for cancer mortality
Published in Letters in Biomathematics, 2019
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with one or more cytotoxic anti-neoplastic drugs through some protocol. Chemotherapy also affects cells that divide rapidly under normal circumstances: cells in the bone marrow, digestive tract and hair follicles. Targeted therapy is also a form of chemotherapy that targets specific molecular differences between cancer and normal cells. The efficacy of chemotherapy depends on the type of cancer and the stage. The combination of chemotherapy and surgery is useful in different types of cancer (including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer and certain lung cancers). Besides it is curative for some cancers, such as some leukaemia (a cancer caused by an overproduction of damaged white blood cells). The effectiveness of chemotherapy is frequently limited by its toxicity to other tissues in the body. Even when chemotherapy does not provide a permanent cure, it may be helpful to reduce symptoms such as pain or to reduce the size of an incurable tumour in the hope that surgery will become possible in future.