Overview of targeted therapies in Oncology

Abstract

Background: Recent scientific advances have provided a map of the human genome along with a better understanding of the processes that transform healthy cells into diseased cells. This has led to the emergence of a new class of drugs called targeted therapies. Objective: To describe the classifications and basic pharmacology of targeted therapies. Methods: A literature search was performed for peer reviewed journal articles using Medline (1996—2007), Embase (1996—2007) and Google. The search was performed using keywords such as angiogenesis inhibitors, cancer vaccines, gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies, small molecules, proteasome inhibitors, targeted therapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Conclusions: A review of the basic pharmacology is described in this article, including the following major categories of targeted therapies: • Small molecule drugs • Monoclonal antibodies • Apoptosis-inducing drugs • Angiogenesis Inhibitors • Cancer vaccines • Gene therapy J Oncol Pharm Practice (2007) 13: 199—205.