Have You Been Diagnosed with Cancer? Targeted Therapy Treatment Options

Get notified of page updates

Targeted Therapy for Treating Cancer

Learn more about targeted therapy, a type of cancer treatment. Stay up to date by signing up for our community newsletter.

Risk Management & Treatment > Cancer Treatment > By Treatment Type > Targeted therapy > Targeted Therapy for Treating Cancer

Targeted Therapy for Treating Cancer Targeted Therapy Side Effects

Glossary on

off

for Cancer Treatment

Targeted therapies are designed to attack or kill cancer cells, while sparing normal cells as much as possible. These therapies are often designed to attach to abnormal proteins, receptors or genes that are found in high quantities in cancer cells or the surrounding tissue.

This section covers the following topics.

Selection of targeted therapies	Resources
PARP inhibitors	Research
Other targeted therapies

How are targeted therapies selected?

Some, but not all targeted therapies work best against cancer cells with certain markers or mutations. Two important types of tests can help guide selection of these targeted therapies.

testing involves looking at tumor, blood or other other tissue samples for abnormal markers that might indicate the cancer is likely to respond to a particular . You can learn more about testing for selecting targeted therapies in our Biomarkers sections.
Genetic testing for inherited mutations can also help guide treatment with targeted therapies. PARP inhibitors, for example, are a type of that are most effective for treating cancer in people with a or mutation.

Each drug has different indications. Like all cancer treatments, targeted therapies can have side effects. Visit our section on Side Effects for more information.

Image of how targeted therapy works

PARP inhibitors

PARP inhibitors work by blocking a protein used to repair damaged . They were initially developed to treat cancers in people with an inherited or mutation. Since then, research and additional approvals have expanded use of PARP inhibitors to more people and situations. There are five PARP inhibitors that have received approval for treating different types of cancers.

Indications vary by:

type and of cancer: PARP inhibitors have been approved to treat breast, ovarian, pancreatic and cancers.
presence of a mutation or biomarker: PARP inhibitors have been approved in different settings for:
- people with certain inherited mutations.
- people with certain acquired mutations.
- people with certain tumor biomarkers.
- women with certain types of ovarian cancer, regardless of the presence of an or .
number of and response to prior treatments: have been approved in different settings for:
- platinum-sensitive or partially platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.
- castration-resistent cancer (mCRPC).
- after chemotherapy.
- to treat progression or recurrence after a specific number of prior treatments.

Clinical trials studying PARP inhibitors in new settings or combinations are enrolling patients. As research continues, these approvals may expand to include treatment for additional cancers, earlier stages of cancer, people with other inherited mutations, and based on different tumor biomarkers.

Table of PARP inhibitors

Table of PARP Inhibitors: This table lists different PARP inhibitors and their indications.

Drug	Cancer Type	Stage	Use	Biomarker
Lynparza (olaparib)	Breast cancer	Early stage breast cancer at high risk for recurrence	Given for one year as maintenance therapy after completion of neoadjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy and local treatment (surgery and, or radiation).	BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited mutation (germline mutation)
Lynparza (olaparib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	For treatment of patients who have previously received chemotherapy, or hormone therapy for patients with hormone receptor HR-positive disease.	BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited mutation and HER2-negative
Talzenna (talazoparib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	For treatment of metastatic breast cancer.	BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and HER2-negative
Lynparza (olaparib)	Ovarian cancer	Stage 3 or 4	First-line maintenance therapy for people who had a complete or partial response to platinum chemotherapy.	Inherited (germline) mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 Tumor (somatic) mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2
Lynparza (olaparib)	Ovarian cancer	Stage 3 or 4	Combined with Avastin (bevacuzimab) for people who had a complete or partial response to platinum chemotherapy.	Inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, or HRD-positive (Homologous Recombination Deficiency-positive)
Lynparza (olaparib) Rubraca (rucaparib) Zejula (niraparib)	Ovarian cancer	Stage 3 or 4	Second-line or later maintenance therapy for people who had a complete or partial response to platinum chemotherapy.	No biomarker needed
Zejula (niraparib)	Ovarian cancer	Stage 3 or 4	For people who had a complete or partial response to platinum chemotherapy.	No biomarker required
Lynparza (olaparib)	Pancreatic cancer	Metastatic	For people whose disease has not progressed on at least 16 weeks of platinum-based chemotherapy.	Inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2
Akeega (niraparib and abiraterone acetate)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	In combination with prednisone for first-line or later treatment of mCRPC.	Inherited or tumor mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 based on FoundationOne tumor test
Lynparza (olaparib)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	Combined with Zytiga and prednisone or prednisolone for first-line or later treatment of mCRPC.	Inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 found through genetic testing, or Tumor BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation found through tumor testing or liquid biopsy
Lynparza (olaparib)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	For treatment of mCRPC which has progressed following treatment with Xtandi (enzalutamide) or Zytiga (abiraterone).	Inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, or Tumor mutation in one of the following genes: ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, BARD1, BRIP1, CDK12, CHEK2, FANCL, PALB2, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, RAD54
Rubraca (rucaparib)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	For treatment of mCRPC which has been treated with androgen receptor-directed therapy and a taxane-based chemotherapy.	Inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 found through genetic testing, or Tumor BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation found through tumor testing or liquid biopsy
Talzenna (talazoparib)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	In combination with enzalutamide for mCRPC which has not yet been treated in the castration-resistant setting.	Inherited or tumor mutation in one of the following genes: BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, ATR, CDK12, CHEK2, FANCA, MLH1, MRE11A, NBN, PALB2, or RAD51C

Other targeted therapies

There is a growing list of FDA-approved targeted therapies for cancer treatment. Most are classified by the abnormal target that they are designed to bind to and attack. Many of these new therapies are approved for use in all types of cancers () as long as the cancer contains the right marker or target. Drugs that are approved across cancer types are sometimes called pan-tumor or tumor-agnostic therapies.

Some drugs are classified as both immunotherapies and targeted therapies because they use antibodies to target abnormal proteins or receptors that are found in high quantities in cancer cells or the surrounding tissue. Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are drugs that combine two different types of molecules. A chemotherapy drug is linked to an antibody that delivers the chemotherapy directly to the cancer cells.

The table below lists some common targeted therapies used in cancer treatment. Clincal trials are studying new agents for treating cancer.

Table of targeted therapies

Table of Targeted Therapies: This table lists commonly used targeted therapies and their indications.

Drug	Cancer Type	Stage	Use	Biomarker	Type of Agent
Afinitor (everolimus)	Breast cancer	Metastatic or advanced	Combined with exemestane for postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer which progressed with letrozole or anastrozole.	HR-positive, HER2-negative	MTOR inhibitor
Afinitor (everolimus)	Pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (PNET)	Progressive PNETs	Used to treat PNETs that have progressed on other treatments.	No biomarker needed	MTOR inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Stage 2-4	Combined with Lynparza (olaparib) for first-line maintenance therapy for platinum-sensitive cancer.	Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) testing	VEGF inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Stage 3-4	Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent following initial surgical resection.	No biomarker needed	VEGF inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Recurrent	Combined with chemotherapy for treating platinum-resistant, recurrent disease in people who received no more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens.	No biomarker needed	VEGF inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer	Recurrent	Combined with chemotherapy, followed by Avastin as a single agent, for platinum-sensitive recurrent disease.	No biomarker needed	VEGF inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for first-, or second-line treatment.	No biomarker needed	VEGF inhibitor
Avastin (bevacizumab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with chemotherapy for second-line treatment in patients who have progressed on a first-line Avastin-containing regimen.	No biomarker needed	VEGF inhibitor
Braftovi (encorafenib)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with cetuximab, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.	BRAF V600E tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor
Braftovi (encorafenib)	Melanoma	Metastatic	Combined with Mektovi (binimetinib), for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor
Cotellic (cobimetinib)	Melanoma	Metastatic	Combined with Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	BRAF inhibitor
Cyramza (ramucirumab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with FOLFIRI chemotherapy, for treatment after disease progression on, or after prior therapy with bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and a fluoropyrimidine.	No biomarker required	VEGF inhibitor
Datroway (datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Treatment for cancers that have progressed after hormone therapy and chemotherapy.	Hormone receptor position (HR-positive), HER2-negative	Antibody-drug conjugate (chemotherapy attached to antibody targeting TROP-2)
ELAHERE (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx)	Ovarian cancer	Stage 3-4	Used as second-line or later treatment of platinum-resistant or platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer.	Positive for FRα (folate receptor alpha)	Antibody-drug conjugate (chemotherapy attached to antibody targeting FR-α receptor)
Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Treatment for people who have received a prior anti-HER2-based regimen either: in the metastatic setting. in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting and developed a recurrence during or within six months of completing treatment.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody-drug conjugate
Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	As treatment for people who have tumors that are HER2-low, received chemotherapy in the metastatic setting and whose cancer no longer responds to hormonal therapy.	HR-positive and HER2-low	Antibody-drug conjugate
Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	As treatment for people with HR-positive, HER2-low or HER2 ultralow that came back or got worse after one or more hormone therapies in the metastatic setting.	HR-positive and HER2-low or HER2-ultra low	Antibody-drug conjugate
Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)	Solid tumors (pan tumor)	Metastatic or unresectable	For adult patients with unresectable or metastatic, HER2-positive solid tumors (including colorectal cancer) who have received prior systemic treatment and have no alternative treatment options.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody-drug conjugate
Erbitux (cetuximab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with FOLFIRI for first-line treatment, or combined with irinotecan for cancers that no longer respond to irinotecan-based chemotherapy or as a single agent in patients who have progressed after oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based chemotherapy.	EGFR positive and KRAS mutation negative	EGFR inhibitor
Fruzaqla (fruquintinib)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Used as a single agent when cancer has progressed after treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapy.	No biomarker required	VEGF inhibitor
Herceptin (trastuzumab)	Breast cancer	Early stage	The treatment of Her2-positive breast cancer.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors
Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Tukysa (tucatinib) combination	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic or unresectable	For people who progressed after chemotherapy.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors and a kinase inhibitor that targets HER2 receptors
Ibrance (palbociclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with an aromatase inhibitor as treatment of advanced cancer as initial hormone therapy in postmenopausal women or in men.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Ibrance (palbociclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with Faslodex (fulvestrant) as treatment in postmenopausal women or in men whose disease progressed following endocrine therapy.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine)	Breast cancer	Early stage	Adjuvant therapy for people with early breast cancer who still have disease after neoadjuvant taxane and treatment with Herceptin	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors
Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	For treatment in people whose cancer got worse after receiving Herceptin and chemotherapy in the following settings: for metastatic disease, or as adjuvant therapy, and experienced disease recurrence during or within 6 months of completing adjuvant therapy.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors
Kisqali (ribociclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with an aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of pre/perimenopausal or postmenopausal women as initial hormone based therapy.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Kisqali (ribociclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with Faslodex (fulvestrant) for the treatment of postmenopausal women, as initial hormone based therapy.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Krazati (adagrasib)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	In combination with cetuximab for locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed after treatment with chemotherapy.	KRAS^G12C mutation	Targeted therapy against the KRAS^G12C protein
Lenvima (lenvatinib)	Endometrial cancer	Advanced disease	Combined with pembrolizumab, for the treatment of patients whose cancer has progressed after treatment and who are not candidates for surgery or radiation.	Tumors that are not MSI-H or dMMR (or MMR-D) - they may be referred to as MSI-Low, MSS, pMMR or MMR-P)	Targeted therapy known as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor
Mekinist (trametinib)	Melanoma	Unresectable or metastatic	As a single agent and in combination with dabrafenib for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a MEK inhibitor
Mekinist (trametinib)	Melanoma	Lymph node positive	Combined with Taflinar (dabrafenib) as adjuvant treatment of people with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a MEK inhibitor
Mektovi (binimetinib)	Melanoma	Unresectable or metastatic	Combined with Braftovi (encorafenib), for the treatment of people with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a MEK inhibitor
Orserdu (elacestrant)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Used alone to treat men or postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, which progressed after at least one line of hormone therapy therapy.	HR-positive, HER2-negative with an ESR1 mutation	Type of targeted hormonal therapy known as SERD (selective estrogen receptor degrader or downregulator)
Perjeta (pertuzumab)	Breast cancer	Locally advanced, inflammatory or early stage	Combined with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel as treatment before surgery (neoadjuvant).	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors
Phesgo (pertuzumab, trastuzumab combined injection)	Breast cancer	Early stage	Before surgery (neoadjuvant) treatment for tumors larger than 2 cm or node-positive, or After surgery (adjuvant) treatment for early breast cancer that has a high likelihood of coming back.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Antibody targeting HER2 receptors
Piqray (alpelisib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with Faslodex (fulvestrant) as treatment in men or post-menopausal women who progressed on or after treatment with hormone therapy.	HR-positive, HER2-negative and positive for a PIK3CA tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the PIK3 pathway
Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	For treatment of mCRPC which has stopped responding or got worse after treatment with hormonal therapy using an androgen receptor inhibitor and taxane-based chemotherapy.	Imaging with a PET scan that looks for prostate cancers with the marker PSMA	Targeted radiation therapy (radioligand therapy)
Retevmo (selpercatinib)	Solid tumors (pan tumor)	Metastatic or unresectable	Second-line or later treatment for metastatic solid tumors for which there are no other treatment options.	RET fusion	Kinase inhibitor
Stivarga (regorafenib)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	For treatment of colorectal cancer that has progressed after treatment and for which there are no other treatment options.	No biomarker required	Targeted therapy known as a multi-kinase inhibitor
Tafinlar (dabrafenib)	Melanoma	Unresectable or metastatic	Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of people with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a BRAF inhibitor
Tafinlar (dabrafenib)	Melanoma	Lymph node positive	Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) as adjuvant treatment of people with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a BRAF inhibitor
Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	For metastatic breast cancer that progressed, recurred or did not respond to at least two previous lines of treatment.	Triple-negative (ER/PR-negative, HER2-negative)	Antibody-drug conjugate (chemotherapy attached to antibody found in TNBC)
Truqap (capivasertib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with fulvestrant as treatment for HR-positive, advanced or metastatic breast cancer which recurred or got worse after standard hormone therapy.	PTEN, PIK3 or AKT1 mutation in the tumor	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the AKT pathway
Tukysa (tucatinib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic or unresectable	In combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) to treat cancer which has progressed after at least one prior treatment with an anti-HER2 treatment in the metastatic setting.	HER2 overexpression (HER2-positive)	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that targets HER2 receptors
Vectibix (panitumumab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	Combined with FOLFOX for first-line treatment.	Negative for KRAS and NRAS mutations	Targeted therapy that targets a receptor known as EGFR
Vectibix (panitumumab)	Colorectal cancer	Metastatic	As a single therapy following disease progression after prior treatment with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan-containing chemotherapy.	Negative for KRAS and NRAS mutations	Targeted therapy that targets a receptor known as EGFR
Verzenio (abemaciclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Used alone to treat breast cancer that has progressed after treatment with hormone therapy and chemotherapy in the metastatic setting.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Verzenio (abemaciclib)	Breast cancer	Metastatic	Combined with Faslodex (fulvestrant) as treatment in women whose disease progressed following endocrine therapy.	HR-positive and HER2-negative	Targeted therapy known as a kinase inhibitor that blocks the CDK4/6 pathway
Vitrakvi (larotrectinib)	Solid tumors (pan tumor)	Metastatic or unresectable	For treatment in metastatic solid tumors for which there are no other treatment options.	NTRK fusion	Kinase inhibitor
Xofigo (Radium 223 dichloride)	Prostate cancer	Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)	For treatment of mCRPC that has spread to the bones but has not to other organs.	No biomarker needed	Targeted radiation therapy (radioligand therapy)
Zelboraf (vemurafenib)	Melanoma	Unresectable or metastatic	Combined with Tecentriq (atezolizumab) and Cotellic (cobimetinib) in people with melanoma that has the BRAF gene mutation, when the cancer can’t be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body.	BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation	Targeted therapy known as a BRAF inhibitor