Targeted Therapy for Cancer

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death, taking nearly 7 million lives each year worldwide. New cancer targeted therapies that make use therapeutic antibodies or small molecules have made treatment more tumor specific and less toxic. Nevertheless, there remain several challenges to the treatment of cancer, including drug resistance, cancer stem cells, and high tumor interstitial fluid pressure. In many solid tumors, for example, increased interstitial fluid pressure makes the uptake of therapeutic agents less efficient. One of the most promising ways of meeting such challenges is ligand-targeted therapy that may be used to make targeting more specific and carry higher dosages of anti-cancer drug to tumor tissue. This article reviews and discusses recent advances in the treatment of cancer and the challenges that remain.