Review article

Targeted Drugs in Gastrointestinal Oncology

Damir Vrbanec ; KBC Zagreb
Borislav Belev ; KBC Zagreb

Abstract

Over the last few years advances in our understanding of the biology of cell signalling have led to the introduction of novel therapies, often collectively termed targeted drugs, rationally designed to target specific molecular factors implicated in tumour growth. A large number of these drugs are currently in clinical or preclinical trials. By acting more selectively against tumour cells, these molecular targeted agents offer the potential for improved efficacy and lower toxicity when compared with conventional chemotherapy. In some cases, these agents have profoundly changed the natural history of disease, e.g. imatinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumours. In this article, we describe the most important drugs currently used in gastrointestinal oncology: monoclonal antibodies (bevacizumab, cetuximab, panitumumab, aflibercept, trastuzumab) and small-molecule compounds (imatinib, sunitinib, erlotinib, regorafenib, sorafenib, everolimus).

Keywords

gastrointestinal oncology; targeted therapy; monoclonal antibodies; small-molecule compounds

Hrčak ID:

102974

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/102974

Publication date:

18.4.2013.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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