Dr. Drevs working
SanaFontis Nurse

Molecular Targeted Therapies

Over the past ten years much progress has been made in understanding the biological processes inside cancer cells. As a result standard therapies have been improved and now use substances that can block these processes and stop the growth of malignant cells. 

Angiogenesis inhibitors

An important therapy approach is anti-angiogenesis. It cuts off the tumour’s blood supply and, as a consequence, the nutrient supply which is vital to its growth. Clinical studies have shown that so-called angiogenesis inhibitors can not only stop cancerours growths but also cause tumour regression. This method may not cure cancer, but it will certainly help to control it and in many cases prevent metastases as well. 

The team of physicians from the Hospital SanaFontis played an important role in the development of these drugs and now places all its experience in this new medical field at the disposal of the patients.

Antibodies

In two or three out of ten women with breast cancer, treatment with the antibody trastuzumab is indicated. This is the case when tissue samples from the tumours show a molecular peculiarity: an over-expression of HER2.

Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds only to this receptor. It blocks the resorption of growth factors that stimulate tumour cell division and can thus prevent the tumour from metastasising. 

A number of studies have shown that adjuvant dosing (ie dosing immediately after surgery) with trastuzumab as an additive to chemotherapy can significantly reduce the risk of a relapse. In tumours without HER2 expression this antibody therapy is ineffective. 

By now there is also hope for patients with metastasising intestinal cancer who have not responded to standard therapy. When administered in combination with the chemotherapeutic drug irinotecan the new substance cetuximab can lead to a partial or full regression of the tumour, or it can at least stabilise the cancer condition in about 50 % of all patients. 

Cetuximab, too, is a monoclonal antibody that has been approved for the treatment of intestinal cancer. It binds to a receptor with the designation EGFR which is over-expressed in about 80 % of the patients with intestinal cancer. By blocking this receptor the drug inhibits tumour growth and prevents the tumour from metastasising. Plus, cetuximab can inhibit the tumour cells’ capacity for regeneration after chemotherapy or radiation therapy. 

Cetuximab has also proven effective in the treatment of head and throat tumours. At present cetuximab is tested for efficacy in other types of tumours but has not been officially approved for these therapeutic indications. In individual cases, however, so-called off-label use is possible, meaning that the drug will be used outside its approved therapeutic indication if it benefits the patient.