Opportunities and challenges in the development of targeted therapies

Abstract

Expanding knowledge about basic biology and a detailed understanding of the signaling pathways that participate in the growth and metastasis of breast cancer have identified opportunities for diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. Endocrine therapy represents the first and most successful example of targeted therapy in breast cancer. Trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA) is now part of the management of metastatic disease and is under evaluation as adjuvant therapy. Other pathways have been targeted, and several candidate drugs are being developed. While these developments represent opportunities for better therapies, they have also identified limitations in identification of targets and development of targeted therapies. Validation of targets is critical, and it is also critical to determine whether the putative target can be identified in a consistent, practical, and inexpensive manner. Finally, it is imperative that targeted therapies are devoid of toxicities secondary to the ubiquitous nature of the target, and we must improve our understanding of interactions that provide specificity of signaling under physiologic conditions.