| |SEPTEMBER 20228VANTAGE POINTUNDERSTANDING PRECISION ONCOLOGY & TARGETED THERAPIES FOR CANCER PATIENTSBy Kshitij Rishi, Co-Founder & COO, 4basecareI ndia sees more than a million cases of cancer every year. While, countless efforts are being made all over the world to find a cure for this life-threating disease, we believe Precision Oncology can be the game changer in this direction.What is Precision Oncology?Cancer cells are the normal cells that undergo genetic changes, allowing it to grow and divide very quickly. Precision Oncology is a targeted and specifically designed approach towards cancer cells. This innovative science involves analyzing and using patient's mutated genes to design a treatment protocol just for them. The word precise stands true and important in case of Cancer, where it is clearly becoming evident that every cancer patient demands different intervention. Cancer is an extremely heterogeneous disease meaning that differences are seen not only between the cancer cells from different patients but also between cancer cells within the patient. The traditional `one size fits all' concept which is widely used as a current treatment protocol may not be relevant in the future. Clearly, more effective strategies of understanding individual tumors and creating personalized treatment regimes are needed to deal with these challenges.Targeted Therapy in Precision OncologyTargeted therapy which is the foundation of precision medicine is a type of cancer treatment which stops or slows down the growth or spread of cancer by targeting the proteins or molecules that control cancer cell growth along with its mutation and spread. This therapy is designed to target the effect of cancer-causing genes which is achieved when drug attaches itself to its target and stopping it from doing its job. Types of Targeted TherapyMost targeted therapies are either small molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies. Small-molecule drugs: They are pills or capsules that can be swallowed by the patient and are small enough to enter cells easily, so they are used for targets that are inside cells.
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