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 biomarker 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, stage and situation. Many of the available targeted therapies are used for advanced or metastatic 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 PARP Inhibitor section. This is not a complete list of all targeted therapies or indications. Speak with your doctor about other biomarker tests and treatments which may be available.

Table of common targeted therapies

Targeted therapy	Cancer type	Indication	Biomarker	Type of     agent
Afinitor (everolimus)	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with exemestane for postmenopausal women with advanced HR-positive, HER2­-negative breast cancer which progressed with letrozole or anastrozole	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	MTOR inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
	Pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (PNET)	Progressive neuroendocrine tumors of pancreatic origin (PNET)	No biomarker required	MTOR inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Stage 2-4 ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal  cancer	Combined with Lynparza (olaparib) for first-line, maintenance therapy for platinum-sensitive cancer	Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) testing	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
	Stage 3-4 ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent following initial surgical resection	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
	Recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Combined with chemotherapy for platinum-resistant recurrent disease who received no more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
	Recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent, for platinum-sensitive recurrent diesase	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for first-, or second-line treatment	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with chemotherapy for second-line treatment in patients who have progressed on a first-line Avastin-containing regimen	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
Braftovi (encorafenib)	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with cetuximab, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC)	BRAF V600E tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor (a type of kinase inhibitor)
	Metastatic melanoma	Combined with Mektovi (binimetinib), for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
Cotellic (cobimetinib)	Metastatic melanoma	Combined with Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
Cyramza (ramucirumab)	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with FOLFIRI chemotherapy, for treatment after disease progression on, or after prior therapy with bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and a fluoropyrimidine	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)	Metastatic	Treatment for people who have received a prior anti-HER2 therapy for metastatic breast cancer or had their breast cancer come back during or within 6 months of completing treatment for their early-stage breast cancer	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody-drug conjugate (chemotherapy attached to antibody to HER2)
Enhertu	Metastatic breast cancer	As treatment for people who have tumors that are HER2-low, received chemotherapy in the metastatic setting and whose cancer no longer responds to hormonal therapy.	HER2-low  (HER2 1+ or HER2 2+)	Targeted chemotherapy (chemo attached to antibody to HER2 receptor)
Erbitux (cetuximab)	Metastatic 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 Her2-positive breast cancer	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Antibody targeting Her2 receptors
Ibrance (palbociclib) or Verzenio (abemaciclib)	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with an aromatase inhibitor as treatment of HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced cancer  as initial endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women or in men	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	CDK4/6 inhibitor
	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with fulvestrant as treatment of HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced cancer in postmenopausal women or in men with disease progression following endocrine therapy	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	CDK4/6 inhibitor
Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine)	Metastatic breast cancer	Treatment of patients with HER2-positive cancer who previously received trastuzumab and chemotherapy, separately or in combination. Patients should have either received therapy for metastatic disease, or developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant therapy	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Antibody targeting Her2 receptors
	Breast cancer	Adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant taxane and trastuzumab-based treatment	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Antibody targeting Her2 receptors
Kisqali (ribociclib)	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with an aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of pre/perimenopausal or postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative cancer, as initial hormone based therapy	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	CDK4/6 inhibitor
	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with fulvestrant for the treatment of postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative cancer, as initial hormone based therapy.	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	CDK4/6 inhibitor
Lenvima (lenvatinib)	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 (dMMR), who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation	Tumor is not MSI-H/dMMR	Tyrosine kinase inhibitor
Mekinist (trametinib)	Metastatic melanoma	As a single agent and in combination with dabrafenib for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
	Melanoma	Combined with Taflinar (dabrafenib) as adjuvant 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)	Metastatic melanoma	Combined with Braftovi (encorafenib), for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
Perjeta (pertuzumab)	Breast cancer	Combined with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive, locally advanced, inflammatory, or early stage breast cancer	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Antibody targeting Her2 receptors
Phesgo (pertuzumab, trastuzumab combined injection)	Breast cancer	Prior to surgery (neoadjuvant treatment) when the tumor is greater than 2 cm in diameter or node-positive or after surgery (adjuvant treatment) for early breast cancer that has a high likelihood of coming back	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Antibody targeting Her2 receptors
Piqray  (alpelisib)	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with fulvestrant for the treatment of postmenopausal women, and men, with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer,	ER/PR-positive, Her2-negative,  PIK3CA tumor mutation	PIK3 kinase inhibitor
Stivarga (regorafenib)	Metastatic 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 biomarker needed	Multi-target kinase inhibitor
Sutent (sunitinib malate)	Unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (PNET)	For treatment of progressive, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET)	No biomarker needed	Multi-target kinase inhibitor
Tafinlar (dabrafenib)	Metastatic melanoma	As a single agent for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E  tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
	Metastatic melanoma	Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor)
	Melanoma	Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) as adjuvant 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)	metastatic pancreatic cancer	First-line therapy used in combination with gemcitabine	No biomarker required	EGFR inhibitor
Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy)	Metastatic breast cancer	For metastatic breast cancer that progressed, recurred or did not respond to at least two previous lines of treatment	Triple-negative (ER/PR-negative, Her2-negative)	Targeted chemotherapy (chemo attached to antibody found in TNBC)
Tukysa  (tucatinib)	Metastatic breast cancer	Combined with trastuzumab and capecitabine for treatment of metastatic breast cancer including patients with brain metastases, who have received one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting	Her2 overexpression (Her2-positive)	Anti-Her2 kinase inhibitor
Vectibix (panitumumab)	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with FOLFOX for first-line treatment	Negative for KRAS and NRAS tumor mutation	Kinase inhibitor
	Metastatic 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)	Metastatic breast cancer	As a single agent for the treatment of HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy and prior chemotherapy in the metastatic setting.	ER/PR-positive and Her2-negative	CDK4/6 inhibitor
Vitrakvi (larotrectinib)	Metastatic solid tumors	For treatment in metastatic solid tumors where surgical resection is likely to result in severe morbidity, and  for which there are no satisfactory alternative treatments or the cancer progressed following treatment	NTRK fusion	Kinase inhibitor
Zaltrap (ziv-aflibercept)	Metastatic colorectal cancer	Combined with FOLFIRI chemotherapy, is indicated for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer  that is resistant to or has progressed following an oxaliplatin-containing chemotherapy.	No biomarker required	Blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)