Biologics and Molecular Targeted Therapies/Immunotherapy/Nano Technology Clinical Resource Area

Biotherapy is cancer treatment with a wide variety of agents derived from biologic sources and/or agents that are able to induce biologic responses. Biologics and targeted molecular therapies use drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells. Biologic treatments include monoclonal antibodies, adoptive immunotherapy, hematopoietic growth factors, interferons, interleukins, levamisole, antisense, fusion proteins, tumor necrosis factors, and antiangiogenic agents. Targeted biologic and molecular therapies have been developed in concurrence with the increasing knowledge of genetics.

Researchers are testing targeted therapies in clinical trials to treat lymphomas, leukemias, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and other types of cancer. This resource center presents several cancers as well as the biologics and targeted molecular therapies approved and in development to treat it. In addition, it presents some of the basic science behind these intriguing therapies and an overview of the drug development process. Biologics and targeted molecular treatments are the future of oncology, and oncology nurses must be on the forefront of this knowledge base.