富山大学医学会誌, 第30巻第1号, 2020.3　(全体)

概要

Traditional chemotherapy has been the hallmark of cancer treatment, but chemotherapeutic agents
not only kill cancer cells but also affect some of healthy cells in the body. Over the last two decades, a
new generation of cancer treatment has come to the forefront, i.e., molecular-targeted cancer therapies
using monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule inhibitors. Molecular-targeting therapeutic agents
block specific proteins or genes that help cancers grow and spread. Since they focus on specific
molecular changes which are unique to a particular cancer, molecular-targeted cancer therapies may
be more specifically beneficial for many cancer types, including lung, breast, colorectal, leukemia, and
lymphoma. Moreover, recent advances have made it possible to analyze and to tailor treatment to an
individual patient's tumor. For some types of cancer, molecular-targeted cancer therapies may work
better than other treatments such as traditional chemotherapy. However, despite highly successful
improvements of survival rates, limitations due to tumor heterogeneity, primary and acquired therapy
resistance, immune evasion, and economical considerations will need to be overcome. This review
article provides an overview of the up-to-date knowledge regarding molecular-targeted cancer
therapies. ...

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