Brain metastases treatment with targeted therapy

Targeted therapy shows effectiveness against cancer with specific genetic mutations. It may be relevant in multiple brain metastases when they cannot be surgically removed. Targeted drugs also destroy tumor cells left after surgery. Before prescribing medications, oncologists conduct thorough molecular-genetic research on cancer cells. First, they find out which mutations in which genes have occurred. It helps to specify the "target" for drugs. Then, having determined the type of cells and their division factors, doctors select medicine (for example, Afatinib, Alectinib, Trametinib, and Dabrafenib) that blocks them. That is metaphorically compared to a stick inserted into a wildly spinning wheel. As a result, a stupor occurs, and the cancer cell stops dividing and dies without leaving new ones behind. Other medications block the blood supply system. The rapid growth of metastases requires enhanced nutrition. To this end, they need new blood vessels, which are formed at an accelerated rate. Targeted drugs (Ramicirumab, Bevacizumab) block this process, and cancer cells, deprived of nutrition, die. The methods of using targeted therapy can be different. For example, some drugs are administered intravenously, and others are taken orally in pill form. Often, they are used in combination with chemotherapy drugs or immunotherapy.