An Overview of Targeted Therapy Drugs

1. An Overview of
Targeted Therapy
Drugs
Natasha Tiffany MD

2. An Overview
of Targeted
Therapy Drugs
 Natasha Tiffany, MD, studied medicine at Oregon Health and
Science University in Portland after graduating from Oberlin
College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. For nearly a
decade, Natasha Tiffany, MD, has served as a physician and
partner at Hematology Oncology of Salem, where she treats
cancer patients with a variety of targeted therapies.

3. An Overview
of Targeted
Therapy Drugs
 Targeted therapy has become a major resource in cancer
treatment. Currently, there are two main forms of targeted
therapy treatment: antibody drugs and small molecule drugs.
Antibodies are designed by scientists to mimic the immune
system’s proteins that target cancer cells while small molecule
treatments are simpler in their composition.

4. An Overview
of Targeted
Therapy Drugs
 Several different drugs have been developed as targeted
therapies. Gleevec was one of the earliest targeted therapies used
specifically for cancer treatment. The drug is mainly used to treat
gastrointestinal stromal tumors, though certain types of leukemia
can also be treated with Gleevec. Iressa, meanwhile, targets
mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptors that cause
non-small-cell lung cancer. Some additional targeted therapy
drugs include Sutent for kidney cancer and Velcade for multiple
myeloma.