Strategies to optimize the use of targeted agents for tumor therapy

Abstract

In recent years the traditional treatment spectrum of tumors--chemotherapy or radiotherapy--has been extended with immune-modulating strategies. For some tumors, clinical responses have been observed but for numerous others no satisfactory approach has been established. Many new agents have been developed; the targeted or smart drugs modulate a constantly growing list of tumor-specific signal pathways and represent an enormous hope for cancer patients. The clinical evaluation of these targeted drugs alone or in combination also presents an enormous challenge. Since the number of possible combinations of targeted drugs seems almost limitless, an accurate strategy for determination of success-promising combination patterns for the individual cancer patient is of special importance.