Targeted Cancer Therapies Can Be Used in Conjunction with Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy to Effectively Eliminate Cancerous Cells

Targeted Cancer Therapies


 Targeted cancer therapies are a combination of therapies geared at healing various parts of the body and stopping or slowing the progression of cancer in the long term. These effects can vary widely between cancers and can only be accurately determined by patient history. However, there are certain types of cancer that respond well to targeted therapies and early diagnosis and treatment are critical to achieving full clinical remission. It is now widely recognized that targeting certain cancerous tissues will generally improve the response and cure the disease. Unfortunately, even when the target is cancerous, some cancers can still respond to therapy even if it is not specifically intended.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy is some of the therapies employed in the treatment of cancer. They are often used together in the same treatment in an attempt to increase the effectiveness of each. The side effects associated with these medications and adverse effects on healthy cells are usually too numerous to allow a successful use in all but the most severe cases. For this reason, targeted cancertherapies are used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy drugs can have a wide range of effects on targeted cancer therapies and healthy cells. The impact of chemotherapy drugs on healthy cells can either increase or decrease their efficiency. Some healthy cells can absorb some of the drugs, increasing their effectiveness, while other cells may be irreparably damaged, preventing them from ever producing any useful product. Cancer survivors are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of these drugs because their healthy cells might be vital to the success of their treatment.

Several targeted cancer therapies are being developed, including combinations of various different drugs and multiple targeted therapies working in different ways. For instance, in January 2021, Soricimed Biopharma Inc., a clinical-stage company, and Orano Med, a nuclear biotech company based in the U.S., entered into an agreement focused on the development of a novel Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy to treat solid tumor cancers.

Radiopharmaceuticals are radioisotopes bound to biological molecules that emit radiation to damage or destroy abnormal cells in the body, thus preventing the spread of cancer or infection. The radiation used in radiotherapies can either be external or internal, with the type of therapy usually determining the risk to patients and the effectiveness of the treatment. The treatment can either be in the form of intravenous or intramuscular injection of medication or tissue, or as a process of skin ablation, freezing of tumors in an attempt to destroy them, or generation of super-antigens that activate the immune system.

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