Targeted Therapy for Cancer Patients in Henderson, NV

What is Targeted Therapy?

Targeted therapy is a kind of cancer treatment that’s focused on genetic changes or mutations that turn healthy cells into cancer cells. To use targeted therapy, healthcare providers test for the genetic changes responsible for helping cancer cells grow and survive. Then, they identify specific treatments to kill those cells or keep them from growing. Targeted therapy helps healthcare providers treat cancer cells without hurting healthy cells. Healthcare providers have developed more than 80 targeted therapies to treat many kinds of cancer. Sometimes, they use targeted therapy as the front line or initial treatment. They may also combine targeted therapy with other treatments.

How Does Targeted Therapy Work?

Once we understand the genetic mutation changing a healthy cell into a cancer cell, he identifies specific cancer cell parts to target for treatment. Sometimes, these are targets on cancer cells surfaces. Other times, the targets are substances inside cancer cells. Here’s information on the two most common kinds of targeted therapies and how they tackle cancer:

• Monoclonal antibodies: Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made versions of your antibodies. Your antibodies are part of your immune system. They’re proteins that scour your body for signs of intruder proteins (antigens) that can come from things like infections or cancer cells. Antibodies target these antigens to get rid of the intruders. Monoclonal antibodies have several ways of attacking cancer cells.
• Small-molecule drugs: These drugs bind or attach to specific targets on cancer cells, preventing cancer cell growth or killing the cancer cells.

What Kinds of Cancer Can Targeted Therapies Treat?

There are now more than 80 targeted therapies to treat many kinds of cancer. Further, there are targeted therapies that treat different mutations that are part of the same kind of cancer. Some types of cancer that may be treated with targeted therapy include:

• Blood Cancers (Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma & Lymphona)
• Brain Cancers (Glioblastoma & Neuroblastoma)
• Bone and Soft Tissue Cancers (Certain soft tissue sarcomas)
• Breast Cancers (BRCA gene mutation breast cancer, HER2-positive breast cancer, Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer & Triple negative breast cancer)
• Digestive System Cancers
• Head and Neck Cancers
• Lung Cancers
• Reproductive System Cancers
• Skin Cancers
• Thyroid Cancers
• Urinary System Cancers