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Dr. Tyler Buckley

Medical Oncologist

Targeted Cancer Therapy: What You Should Know

The exact characteristics of your tumor or blood cells that cause them to grow and spread are the focus of targeted cancer therapy. Compared to conventional chemotherapy, it is distinct. Your doctor may examine your tumor for specific proteins or genetic alterations to determine whether targeted therapy is the best option for you. A biopsy may be performed to take a sample of your tumor for analysis.

Apoptosis is a typical cellular process that is crucial for maintaining cellular equilibrium, promoting healthy development, and eliminating abnormal cells. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in the management of numerous illnesses, including autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Apoptosis inducers come in a number of forms. Through DNA cross-linking, inhibition of anti-apoptotic proteins, and activation of caspases, the majority of these reagents show pro-apoptotic actions. Dose titration tests are required to establish an optimal concentration. This will reveal how long it takes for a specific medication concentration to cause a substantial amount of apoptosis in a specific cell line.

Due to its broad cytotoxic efficiency against the majority of cell types, hydrogen peroxide has emerged as the most popular apoptosis inducer. But among various cell types, their apoptosis sensitivity differs greatly. The significance of choosing an adequate H2O2 concentration range for a particular cell type is illustrated by this study.

Hormone inhibitors prevent access to the hormones that cancer cells require to proliferate and spread. These hormones include testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen (ER, PR). These drugs can be used by medical professionals to treat prostate and breast cancer.

They can also be applied to the treatment of tumors that depend on hormones, like ovarian and uterine cancer. They can be administered via pills, injections, or surgery that involves the removal of hormone-producing glands, such as the ovaries in women and the testicles in men.

Hormone therapy can enhance a woman's quality of life and aid in the reduction or prevention of breast cancer tumors. Typically, patients receive treatment for five years. Finding a combination therapy that works for you is crucial since some breast tumors might develop resistance to hormone medicines. Compared to taking one medicine alone, certain combinations may be more beneficial.

The process that results in the formation of new blood vessels is known as angiogenesis (Greek for blood vessel). Normal wound healing may be aided by this, but cancer may also develop, invade surrounding tissue, or spread to other parts of the body. (metastasize). The body produces specific substances that regulate angiogenesis. Angiogenesis inhibitors are medications that prevent the growth of blood vessels and cancer.

Angiogenesis is a complicated process that is influenced by numerous variables. For instance, a large number of cells generate vascular endothelial growth factor. (VEGF). Infiltrating lymphocytes, macrophages, and inflammatory cytokines all contribute to angiogenesis.

Drugs in the proteasome inhibitor class stop proteasomes from doing their job. These proteins are a vital component of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, which targets cellular proteins that are no longer required. The first FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, is a promising medication that causes cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. Its usage in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (R/RMM) is a result of this action.

These inhibitors work by obstructing the hydroxyl and amino groups of N-terminal threonine to inhibit the b5 subunit of the 20S proteasome. These subunit-specific inhibitors have been commercialized as a new class of cancer therapies since they have shown to be more clinically effective than bortezomib.

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