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Published on: July 25, 2020
Combining molecular targeted therapies: clinical experience.
Xavier Pivot1, Nadia Bedairia, Antoine Thiery-Vuillemin
1Department of Oncology, University Hospital Jean Minjoz, Besançon, France. Xavier.pivot@univ-fcomte.fr
Combining molecular targeted therapies shows mixed results in cancer treatment. While some combinations offer promise, particularly for HER2-positive breast cancer, others have disappointed, indicating no universal guidance for future trials.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- Over 20 molecular targeted therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, are approved for cancer treatment.
- These therapies are increasingly explored in combination within clinical trials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the rationale behind combining molecular targeted therapies.
- To summarize the clinical trial results of these combinations to date.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of clinical trials investigating combination molecular targeted therapies.
- Analysis of reported outcomes for various combination regimens.
Main Results:
- Exciting clinical results observed with certain combinations, such as lapatinib/trastuzumab or bevacizumab/trastuzumab in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.
- Disappointing outcomes noted for other combinations, like cetuximab or panitumumab with bevacizumab/chemotherapy in first-line metastatic/advanced colorectal cancer.
Conclusions:
- The efficacy of combining molecular targeted therapies varies significantly across different cancer types and regimens.
- No general guidance can currently be derived for studying such combinations due to inconsistent results.
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