Abstract
This chapter comprehensively and systematically reviews the different modalities of anti-cancer therapies. Therapeutic options are classified into mechanical treatments including surgery, physical treatments including radiation therapy, chemical treatments including chemotherapy and biological treatments including immunotherapy. The administration and the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer action of these therapeutic modalities are explained. Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells by directly or indirectly damaging cellular DNA. According to their mechanism of action, chemotherapeutic drugs can be classified into DNA-modifying agents, anti-metabolites, spindle poisons, topoisomerase inhibitors and cytotoxic antibiotics. The success of standard chemotherapy is limited by problems with toxicity to healthy tissues. Conventional chemotherapies kill cancer cells by attacking DNA replication or cell division whereas targeted therapies interact with a specific molecular target to mediate their therapeutic effects. Targeted therapeutic drugs can be classified into small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, and immunotoxins. Companion diagnostics allow the stratification of patients into predictive responders and non-responders and are available for several targeted therapies. Cancer immunotherapy including cytokine therapy, cellular immunotherapy and immune checkpoint therapy stimulates the immune system of the patient enabling a strong immunological response against the tumor. Passive immunotherapy delivers already active immune factors, while active immunotherapy is aimed at activates intrinsic factors of the patient’s own immune system .
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Further Reading
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Holland-Frei cancer medicine, 9th. edn. Wiley-Blackwell (2017) ISBN: 978-1-118-93469-2
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Link, W. (2019). Cancer Therapy. In: Principles of Cancer Treatment and Anticancer Drug Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18722-4_2
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