Personalized or precision medicine lets doctors tailor cancer treatment to a person's tumor. Gene changes, or "mutations," that are unique to the tumor can help doctors decide which treatment is likely to work best. As researchers learn more about these gene changes, they can develop treatments known as targeted therapy.

Targeted Treatments

These work on things like genes, proteins, and blood vessels that help cancer cells grow and spread. They’re different from traditional cancer drugs like chemotherapy, which act on all fast-growing cells.Because doctors match targeted treatments to your tumor, they may work better than other cancer options, with fewer side effects.

Examples of targeted drugs include:

• Trastuzumab (Herceptin) treats breast cancers that have the HER-2 gene mutation.
• Afatinib (Gilotrif) and cetuximab (Erbitux) block a substance called EGFR that helps colorectal and lung cancers grow.

Immunotherapy

These treatments help your body's own defenses -- your immune system -- find and attack cancer cells the same way it attacks bacteria and viruses. The main types used are:

Monoclonal antibodies: Your immune system creates proteins called antibodies that seek out cancer and other foreign cells. They attach to substances called antigens on those cells. Once attached, the antibodies send out a signal that tells other immune cells to launch an attack.

Checkpoint inhibitors: Your body's cells have substances called checkpoints on their surface that tell your immune system they're friendly. Cancer cells sometimes hide behind these checkpoints so your immune system can’t find them. Inhibitors remove these checkpoints so your immune system can find and attack cancer cells.

Cancer vaccines: Regular vaccines teach your immune system to fight off diseases like mumps or measles. Cancer vaccines show it how to fight off cancer. There are two main types:

• Preventive (or prophylactic) vaccines, which aim to prevent cancer.
• Treatment (or therapeutic) vaccines, which strengthen your immune system to fight a cancer you already have.

CAR T-cell therapy: Your immune system has an army of fighter cells called T cells, which defend your body against viruses and other invaders. CAR T-cell therapy is a treatment that helps T cells attack cancer more effectively.Doctors first remove T cells from your blood. Then they change genes in the cells to help them find and destroy cancer cells. Finally, they put the T cells back in your body.

Radiation Therapy

This treatment kills cancer cells with intense beams of energy. Newer forms of radiation include:

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT): A machine aims the radiation beam precisely at the affected area. This gets the highest dose of radiation to the cancer, but does the least damage to healthy tissue nearby.

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT): Your doctor uses imaging scans like an MRI or CT to focus the laser on the area to be treated. IGRT works well for areas of your body that move, like the lungs or liver.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS): This treatment also delivers a high dose of radiation to a small area. It’s a good option for tumors in your brain and spine.

Proton therapy: This type of radiation treatment uses protons -- positively charged particles of energy -- to kill cancer cells.

For more details go through: Archives in Cancer Research.

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Archives in Cancer Research