Combined Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapies for Cancer Treatment: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2023;23(4):251-264. doi: 10.2174/1568009623666221020104603.

Abstract

The previous year's worldview for cancer treatment has advanced from general to more precise therapeutic approaches. Chemotherapies were first distinguished as the most reliable and brief therapy with promising outcomes in cancer patients. However, patients could also suffer from severe toxicities resulting from chemotherapeutic drug usage. An improved comprehension of cancer pathogenesis has led to new treatment choices, including tumor-targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Subsequently, cancer immunotherapy and targeted therapy give more hope to patients since their combination has tremendous therapeutic efficacy. The immune system responses are also initiated and modulated by targeted therapies and cytotoxic agents, which create the principal basis that when targeted therapies are combined with immunotherapy, the clinical outcomes are of excellent efficacy, as presented in this review. This review focuses on how immunotherapy and targeted therapy are applicable in cancer management and treatment. Also, it depicts promising therapeutic results with more extensive immunotherapy applications with targeted therapy. Further elaborate that immune system responses are also initiated and modulated by targeted therapies and cytotoxic agents, which create the principal basis that this combination therapy with immunotherapy can be of great outcome clinically.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; T-cell; antibodies; dendritic-cell; immunity; targeted-therapies.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Cytotoxins
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy*
  • Neoplasms* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Cytotoxins