Medullary Thyroid Cancer Targeted Therapy

Definition

Targeted therapies in oncology are therapeutic treatments intended to target molecular aberrations driving tumor pathogenesis or progression. In contrast to conventional cytotoxic therapies, which are essentially guided by the site of patient’s tumor, targeted therapies are based on molecular features of the tumor. According to this approach, selective antibodies or rationally designed drugs are currently used to inhibit the function of proteins involved in biochemical pathways thought to be essential for survival or distant dissemination of tumor cells. Therapeutic targets can be expressed by either cancer cells (e.g., proteins encoded by oncogenes) or by stromal cells present in the tumor microenvironment including endothelial cells forming the tumor-associated vasculature.

Characteristics

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a neuroendocrine malignant tumor arising from parafollicular C-cells of the thyroid gland. It occurs sporadically in most cases, whereas in nearly 25%...