Let's learn about targeted therapy for breast cancer.

The word "cancer" scares us all a little, right? But with the advancement of medical science, many new and successful ways to fight cancer have emerged. Today, we're going to talk about a successful treatment method that is being talked about a lot, especially for breast cancer. This is called Targeted Therapy . Let's take a look at what it is, how it works, and what you need to know about it.

Simply put, what is Targeted Therapy?

Think about it, chemotherapy, as we usually know, destroys rapidly dividing cells. This can damage not only cancer cells but also healthy cells in our body. That's why chemotherapy often causes side effects like hair loss and nausea.

But this treatment method called Targeted Therapy is very different from that. To be precise, this is a very 'smart' treatment. It targets and attacks only cancer cells . This treatment method uses our body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells, or blocks the signals that cancer cells need to grow. This causes much less damage to healthy cells. The advantage of this is that the side effects are usually fewer than with chemotherapy.

This treatment works in two main ways:

1. Use of Antibodies: These antibodies are produced by special cells in our body's immune system. These antibodies are made artificially in the laboratory and given to the body as a drug. These attach to cancer cells and stop them from growing or destroying them.

2. Small molecule drugs: These are drugs that can be taken as pills. They work by blocking the signaling pathways inside cancer cells that help them divide and grow.

Your doctor will determine which type of targeted therapy is right for you based on the exact type of breast cancer you have.

HER2-Positive Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

About 20% of people with breast cancer, or about one in five, have a defect in a gene called HER2. This defect causes the gene to make too many copies. If there is too much of the HER2 protein on the cancer cells, we call that cancer "HER2-positive breast cancer."

If your cancer is HER2-positive, there are specific, highly effective targeted therapy treatments for it.

• Trastuzumab : This is the main targeted therapy for HER2-positive cancer. This drug is available under various brand names such as Herceptin, Kanjinti, and Ogivri. It is given as an injection into a vein. It is believed to control the cancer in three main ways:
• Cancer cells stick to the surface and stop them from growing.
• It helps our own immune system destroy cancer cells by signaling them.
• When given with chemotherapy, it increases the success of those treatments.

• Pertuzumab: This drug, which comes under the brand name Perjeta, is another antibody given to HER2-positive cancer. It is often given in combination with Trastuzumab and the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. However, it is not suitable for pregnant women, as it may harm the unborn baby.

• Other drugs: Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), Margetuximab (Margenza), and Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) are also modern drugs given for this type of cancer, especially in cases where the cancer has spread (advanced) or when other treatments have failed.

• Pills: Lapatinib (Tykerb) and Neratinib (Nerlynx) are targeted drugs for HER2-positive cancers that can be taken as pills. These are also often given after other treatments.

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Treatment for HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

If your cancer cells do not have the aforementioned HER2 gene defect, meaning there is not too much HER2 protein, then that cancer is called "HER2-negative breast cancer." Then you will be given a different type of treatment.

There are specific targeted therapy drugs for this type of cancer as well.

• Drugs like Everolimus (Afinitor), Palbociclib (Ibrance), and Ribociclib (Kisqali) are given in combination with hormone therapy. These are treatments given to women, especially after menopause, whose cancer has spread.
• PARP Inhibitors: If your cancer is HER2-negative and you have a BRCA gene mutation, you may be given a special class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, such as Olaparib (Lynparza) and Talazoparib (Talzenna). These are also targeted therapies that specifically target cancer cells.

The important thing is that all of these treatments are determined by the genetic and cellular level of your cancer. So it's important to discuss this carefully with your doctor and choose the treatment that's best for you.

What are the common side effects?

As mentioned earlier, although there are fewer side effects than chemotherapy, targeted therapy can still cause some side effects. These vary from drug to drug. If you experience any side effects , tell your doctor right away . Most of the time, they can be controlled.

How to recognize an emergency?

If you experience one or more of the following symptoms, it could be an emergency. Never ignore them. Call your doctor immediately. If you cannot reach him, go to the Emergency Department (ETU) of the nearest hospital.