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Read about cancer treatment options listed by gene mutation, type of cancer and type of treatment.
Read about cancer treatment options listed by gene mutation, type of cancer and type of treatment.
Targeted therapies used to treat cancer
Targeted therapies can be effective treatments, but they often only work for a select group of people whose tumors express certain features. Increasingly, oncologists are turning to tumor tests to determine which patients are more or less likely to benefit from these therapies.
Targeted therapies are used to treat a portion of patients for almost every type of cancer. The use of targeted therapies for treatment and the choice of agent chosen vary by cancer type, and situation. Many of the available targeted therapies are used for advanced or cancers. Visit the Cancer Treatment by Cancer Type section for more information on targeted therapies for a specific type of cancer.
The following are common targeted therapies for the cancer types listed below. For information on PARP inhibitors, visit our dedicated section. This is not a complete list of all targeted therapies or indications. Speak with your doctor about other tests and treatments which may be available.
Table of common targeted therapies
| Cancer type | Indication | Type of agent | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afinitor (everolimus) |
breast cancer | Combined with exemestane for postmenopausal women with advanced HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer which progressed with letrozole or anastrozole |
and |
MTOR inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
| Pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (PNET) | Progressive neuroendocrine tumors of pancreatic origin (PNET) | No required | MTOR inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | |
| Avastin (bevacizumab) |
2-4 ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer |
Combined with Lynparza (olaparib) for first-line, for platinum-sensitive cancer |
|
Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) |
| 3-4 ovarian, or primary peritoneal cancer | Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent following initial surgical resection | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) | |
| Recurrent ovarian, or primary peritoneal cancer | Combined with chemotherapy for platinum-resistant recurrent disease who received no more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) | |
| Recurrent ovarian, or primary peritoneal cancer | Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent, for platinum-sensitive recurrent diesase | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) | |
| colorectal cancer | Combined with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for first-, or second-line treatment | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) | |
| colorectal cancer | Combined with chemotherapy for second-line treatment in patients who have progressed on a first-line Avastin-containing regimen | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) | |
| Braftovi (encorafenib) |
colorectal cancer | Combined with cetuximab, for the treatment of adult patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) |
BRAF V600E tumor mutation |
BRAF inhibitor (a type of kinase inhibitor) |
| melanoma | Combined with Mektovi (binimetinib), for the treatment of patients with unresectable or melanoma |
BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | |
| Cotellic (cobimetinib) |
melanoma | Combined with Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
| Cyramza (ramucirumab) |
colorectal cancer | Combined with FOLFIRI chemotherapy, for treatment after disease progression on, or after prior therapy with bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and a fluoropyrimidine | No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) |
| Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki) |
Treatment for people who have received a prior anti-HER2 therapy for breast cancer or had their breast cancer come back during or within 6 months of completing treatment for their breast cancer |
overexpression () | Antibody-drug conjugate (chemotherapy attached to antibody to ) | |
| Enhertu | breast cancer | As treatment for people who have tumors that are HER2-low, received chemotherapy in the setting and whose cancer no longer responds to hormonal therapy. | HER2-low ( 1+ or 2+) |
Targeted chemotherapy (chemo attached to antibody to receptor) |
| Erbitux (cetuximab) |
colorectal cancer | Combined with FOLFIRI for first-line treatment, or combined with irinotecan for cancers that no longer respond to irinotecan-based chemotherapy or as a single agent in patients who have progressed after oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy | EGFR positive and KRAS mutation negative | Blocks epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) |
| Herceptin (trastuzumab) |
Breast cancer | The treatment of breast cancer | overexpression () | Antibody targeting receptors |
| Ibrance (palbociclib) or Verzenio (abemaciclib) |
breast cancer | Combined with an aromatase inhibitor as treatment of HR-positive, advanced cancer as initial endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women or in men |
and |
CDK4/6 inhibitor |
| breast cancer | Combined with fulvestrant as treatment of HR-positive, advanced cancer in postmenopausal women or in men with disease progression following endocrine therapy | and | CDK4/6 inhibitor | |
| Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) |
breast cancer | Treatment of patients with cancer who previously received trastuzumab and chemotherapy, separately or in combination. Patients should have either received therapy for disease, or developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing therapy | overexpression () | Antibody targeting receptors |
| Breast cancer | treatment of patients with early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after taxane and trastuzumab-based treatment |
overexpression () | Antibody targeting receptors | |
| Kisqali (ribociclib) |
breast cancer | Combined with an aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of pre/perimenopausal or postmenopausal women with HR-positive, cancer, as initial hormone based therapy |
and | CDK4/6 inhibitor |
| breast cancer | Combined with fulvestrant for the treatment of postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative cancer, as initial hormone based therapy. |
and | CDK4/6 inhibitor | |
|
Lenvima |
Advanced endometrial cancer | Combined with pembrolizumab, for the treatment of patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma that is not microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (), who have disease progression following prior and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation | Tumor is not MSI-H/dMMR | Tyrosine kinase inhibitor |
| Mekinist (trametinib) | melanoma | As a single agent and in combination with dabrafenib for the treatment of unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
| Melanoma | Combined with Taflinar (dabrafenib) as treatment of patients with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
|
| Mektovi (binimetinib) | melanoma | Combined with Braftovi (encorafenib), for the treatment of patients with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
| Perjeta (pertuzumab) |
Breast cancer | Combined with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel as treatment of patients with , locally advanced, inflammatory, or early breast cancer | overexpression () | Antibody targeting receptors |
| Phesgo (pertuzumab, trastuzumab combined injection) | Breast cancer |
Prior to surgery ( treatment) when the tumor is greater than 2 cm in diameter |
overexpression () | Antibody targeting receptors |
| Piqray (alpelisib) |
breast cancer | Combined with fulvestrant for the treatment of postmenopausal women, and men, with HR-positive, advanced or breast cancer, |
, , PIK3CA tumor mutation |
PIK3 kinase inhibitor |
| Stivarga (regorafenib) | colorectal cancer | For cancer that has been previously treated with fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy, an antiVEGF therapy, and, if KRAS and NRAS mutation negative, an anti-EGFR therapy | No needed | Multi-target kinase inhibitor |
| Sutent (sunitinib malate) |
Unresectable, locally advanced or pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (PNET) | For treatment of progressive, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) | No needed | Multi-target kinase inhibitor |
| Tafinlar (dabrafenib) |
melanoma | As a single agent for the treatment of patients with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E tumor mutation | BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
| melanoma | Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | |
| Melanoma | Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) as treatment of patients with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation | BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | |
| Tarceva (erlotinib) | pancreatic cancer | First-line therapy used in combination with gemcitabine | No required | EGFR inhibitor |
| Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) | breast cancer | For breast cancer that progressed, recurred or did not respond to at least two previous lines of treatment | Triple-negative (, ) | Targeted chemotherapy (chemo attached to antibody found in ) |
| Tukysa (tucatinib) |
breast cancer | Combined with trastuzumab and capecitabine for treatment of breast cancer including patients with brain metastases, who have received one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the setting |
overexpression () | Anti-Her2 kinase inhibitor |
| Vectibix (panitumumab) |
colorectal cancer | Combined with FOLFOX for first-line treatment | Negative for KRAS and NRAS tumor mutation | Kinase inhibitor |
| colorectal cancer | As a single therapy following disease progression after prior treatment with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan-containing chemotherapy | Negative for KRAS and NRAS tumor mutations | Kinase inhibitor | |
| Verzenio (abemaciclib) |
breast cancer | As a single agent for the treatment of HR-positive, advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy and prior chemotherapy in the setting. |
and |
CDK4/6 inhibitor |
| Vitrakvi (larotrectinib) | solid tumors | For treatment in solid tumors where surgical resection is likely to result in severe , and for which there are no satisfactory alternative treatments or the cancer progressed following treatment | NTRK fusion | Kinase inhibitor |
| Zaltrap (ziv-aflibercept) |
colorectal cancer | Combined with FOLFIRI chemotherapy, is indicated for patients with colorectal cancer that is resistant to or has progressed following an oxaliplatin-containing chemotherapy. |
No required | Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) |
Last updated August 06, 2020