RT Book, Section
A1 Veitch, Zachary
A1 Bedard, Philippe L.
A2 Harrington, Lea A.
A2 Tannock, Ian F.
A2 Hill, Richard P.
A2 Cescon, David W.
SR Print(0)
ID 1179325670
T1 Molecular Targeted Therapies
T2 The Basic Science of Oncology, 6e
YR 2021
FD 2021
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259862076
LK accessbiomedicalscience.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1179325670
RD 2024/04/19
AB Advances  in  molecular  biology  have  provided  a  better  understanding  of  the  complex  cellular  pathways  that  are  critical  to  tumor  formation  and  growth.  Laboratory-based  assays  that  can  detect  biologically  relevant  molecular  alterations  in  tumor  samples,  including  immunohistochemistry,  in  situ  hybridization,  DNA  sequencing,  gene  expression,  and  epigenetic  profiling,  have  informed  the  development  of  new  classes  of  anticancer  drugs  that  target  aberrantly  expressed  molecular  pathways.  Compared  with  conventional  cytotoxic  chemotherapy,  molecular  targeted  agents  may  offer  greater  tumor  selectivity  and  different  patterns  of  toxicity  as  the  alterations  they  target  are  more  common  in,  or  in  some  cases  exclusive  to,  tumors  compared  with  normal  tissues  (see  Chap.  17,  Sec.  17.2).  Biomarkers  are  increasingly  used  to  aid  in  the  selection  of  patients  likely  to  respond  to  a  particular  class  of  molecular  targeted  agent  and  in  some  cases  to  identify  mechanisms  of  resistance  upon  disease  progression.  Identifying  patients  likely  to  benefit  is  paramount,  as  targeted  therapies  comprise  a  rapidly  expanding  proportion  of  health  care  expenditures  with  new  drugs  routinely  priced  at  more  than  $100,000  per  year.  Decisions  to  integrate  these  agents  into  routine  cancer  care  must  often  weigh  factors  such  as  clinical  benefit,  toxicity,  quality  of  life,  and  treatment  cost  for  their  practical  application  (Schnipper  et  al,  2016).  This  chapter  will  focus  on  the  preclinical  development  and  clinical  application  of  molecular  targeted  agents  and  highlight  the  biologic  basis  of  these  therapies.