Targeted Therapy Cancer Treatment| Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers

At Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers (RMCC), our experts are dedicated to bringing the most advanced cancer treatments to people across Colorado. We provide care to patients throughout Colorado with cancer centers located in the Denver area, northern Colorado including Boulder, Southern Colorado including Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and surrounding communities. We believe everyone facing cancer deserves exceptional, personalized care. That’s why we offer targeted therapy drugs, a more precise approach that targets cancer while helping protect healthy cells.

What is Targeted Therapy for Cancer?

Targeted therapy is an advanced cancer treatment designed to target specific cancer cells by slowing, blocking, or stopping their growth. Often called precision medicine, this approach helps tailor treatment to a person’s individual cancer. It uses information about the cancer, including genetic changes or mutations that help it grow and spread, to target cancer cells more precisely.

This newer form of cancer treatment has expanded rapidly as researchers have learned more about the human genome and the ways cells grow and divide. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, your RMCC doctor may analyze your biopsy samples and blood test results to identify genetic mutations linked to cancer. Genetic mutations can either be inherited (germline) or non-inherited (somatic). Inherited mutations are changes in a cell’s DNA that is passed down from your parents. Non-inherited mutations develop during your lifetime and can be caused by air pollution, tobacco smoke, radon gas, ultraviolet radiation, viruses, or other factors. Some genetic changes occur with no known cause. Identifying genetic mutations linked to cancer is called biomarker testing. These tests look for genes, proteins, and other compounds found in cancer cells that can tell your doctors more about your cancer. With this information, they can determine whether targeted therapy may help treat your specific disease.

How Do Targeted Therapies Work?

Depending on how a cancer grows and spreads, targeted therapies work in different ways. Below are a few types of targeted therapies used by RMCC oncologists:

EGFR Inhibitors

These medications target epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR), which are proteins that help control cell growth and division. In some cancers, EGFR signals are overactive, causing cells to grow too quickly. EGFR inhibitors block these signals, helping slow or stop cancer growth.

TRK Inhibitors

TRK inhibitors target abnormal tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion proteins, which can cause cancer to grow uncontrollably. By blocking these proteins, TRK inhibitors can interfere with cancer cell growth.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors

These targeted therapies block angiogenesis, the process tumors use to form new blood vessels. Because tumors rely on a blood supply to receive oxygen and nutrients, stopping new blood vessel growth can slow or limit cancer growth.

Is Targeted Therapy Right for You?

Targeted therapy is used to treat some types of breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and certain blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. If you have one of these cancers, your RMCC care team may recommend testing to see whether your tumor has genetic changes or other markers that could respond to targeted therapy.

If testing shows that your cancer matches a targeted therapy drug, your doctor may include it in your treatment plan. In some cases, promising targeted therapies that not yet approved may be offered through a clinical trial at RMCC. If targeted therapy is not an option for your cancer, your care team will recommend other treatment options. No matter the approach, your team’s priority is choosing the treatment plan that offers you the best possible outcome.

Personalized Cancer Care with Targeted Therapy

Every person with cancer is unique and benefits from personalized treatment plans tailored to their specific condition and needs. At RMCC, your care team may combine several therapies to create the most effective approach to treating your cancer.

Targeted therapy is often used alongside other treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or radiation therapy. Although targeted therapy does not typically change how these other therapies work, it may sometimes cause different or even fewer side effects when used as part of your plan. Your RMCC doctors will determine which therapies to use and the order you receive them based on your diagnosis and treatment goals. If targeted therapy is part of your treatment plan, your doctor will monitor your progress through blood tests or imaging scans. In some cases, it may take several weeks or months to determine how well the treatment is working.

What to Expect

If you have been recommended targeted therapy as part of your treatment plan, it may be given through infusion or injection at an RMCC cancer center or taken in pill form at home.

Infusion Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy infusions can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the type of drug used. Before each infusion, you may have a blood test to monitor your health. Sometimes, medications are delivered by injection instead. Depending on your treatment plan, appointments may occur weekly or every few weeks

Oral Targeted Therapy

Some targeted therapies are taken orally by pills at home. These medicines may be taken daily or in cycles with scheduled rest periods between treatments. Your care team will explain when and how to take your medication, including whether it should be taken with food or on an empty stomach.

In the first few hours after taking oral targeted therapy, it’s common to feel tired and nauseous, as well as experience sensitive skin and changes in how food tastes. Watch for any fever within the first few days after beginning therapy, which can signal an infection and requires medical attention.

Side Effects of Targeted Therapy

Like other cancer treatments, targeted therapy can cause side effects, although the type and severity depend on what type of medication you receive and how your body responds to it. Keep in mind that you may not experience all of these side effects. Some people only develop a few symptoms, or none at all. Common side effects of targeted therapy may include:

Skin, nail, and hair changes: EGFR inhibitors may cause dry or itchy skin, rashes, nail changes, or hair thinning and hair loss.
High blood pressure or blood clotting issues: These side effects are more commonly associated with angiogenesis inhibitors.
Nervous system changes: Some people taking TRK inhibitors may experience dizziness, confusion, or other neurologic symptoms.
Swelling: Those who take EGFR Inhibitors are more likely to experience facial swelling, especially around the eyes, as well as in the hands, feet, and legs.
Allergic reactions: Developing an allergic reaction to targeted therapy is uncommon, but can cause hives, severe itching, or more serious side effects such as trouble breathing and tightness in the throat or chest.

Targeted therapies can also interact with certain medications, supplements, foods, and drinks. For example, those who take kinase inhibitors often need to avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice as well as St. John’s Wort supplements. Be sure to discuss all medications and supplements you take with your doctor and ask if there are any you need to avoid.

If you experience any symptoms after beginning treatment, talk to your care team. If your symptoms are serious, contact your oncologist right away, even if it’s after hours. Serious symptoms include:

A fever higher than what your care team told you to expect
An allergic reaction, such as swelling of the mouth or throat, severe itching, or rash
Intense chills
Blood in the stool or urine
Unusual pain, including severe headache
Pain or bleeding at the targeted therapy injection or catheter site
Ongoing diarrhea or vomiting
Shortness of breath or trouble breathing (call 911 immediately)

Clinical Trials at RMCC for New Targeted Therapies

RMCC is involved in numerous clinical trials each year to help advance cancer treatment in the future. The studies also provide valuable access to promising new therapies, including targeted therapies, before they become widely available. Every year, additional targeted therapies are developed as experts learn more about how different cancers grow and spread. If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial for your cancer treatment, talk with your oncologist to learn whether a study may be a good fit for you.

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