What Is Molecular Targeted Therapy?

The so-called molecular targeted therapy ^[1-4] is designed at the molecular level of cells against a well-defined oncogenic site (this site can be a protein molecule inside a tumor cell or a gene fragment). Corresponding therapeutic drugs. When the drugs enter the body, they will specifically select carcinogenic sites to combine and work, causing tumor cells to specifically die without affecting the normal tissue cells surrounding the tumor. Therefore, molecular targeted therapy is also called "biological missile".

Molecular targeted therapy

So-called molecular targeted therapy ^[1-4]

The reason why molecular targeted therapy has received close attention and attracted researchers' continuous exploration is that it takes the change of the characteristics of tumor cells as the target, while exerting stronger anti-tumor activity while reducing the toxicity to normal cells side effect. This targeted treatment method points a new direction for tumor treatment.

According to the targets and properties of the drugs, the drugs targeted for the main molecular therapy can be divided into the following categories:

Small molecule

Table 1 FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies ^[5]

Targeted therapy imatinib mesylate (

Human beings are struggling with tumors that threaten health and life. Doctors are trying to find a way to reverse tumor resistance

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the targeted treatment of tumors has made great progress, and many diseases that could not be treated in the past have been effectively controlled. For example, due to in-depth knowledge of HER-2 expression and corresponding drugs

Drugs for molecular targeted therapy also have certain toxic and side effects. The common adverse reactions of molecular targeted therapy drugs are as follows:

After entering the 21st century, the anti-tumor drug research and development strategy is to gradually introduce the development of molecular targeted drugs while continuing to develop cytotoxic drugs. To date, many targeted drugs have played an extremely important or even miraculous role in the clinic. Some have entered standard treatment protocols and norms recognized by the international oncology community in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine. More and more promising drugs are also being developed in rapid development and early clinical trials. It is hoped that in the near future, with the in-depth understanding of the functional genome and the tumor-dominating genome in human genomics and the effective use of high-tech methods such as high-throughput drug screening, the treatment of tumors will certainly enter a new era .