Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific types of cancer cells, while causing less harm to normal cells than some conventional treatments.
Most targeted therapies act on specific molecular targets that are associated with cancer. Examples include small-molecule inhibitors that block enzymes or other proteins driving cancer growth, and monoclonal antibodies that bind to specific targets on the surface of cancer cells.
Targeted therapy is not suitable for every patient or every cancer. Tumors are often tested for specific molecular alterations to determine whether a targeted therapy is likely to be effective.