Abstract
Emergence and development of molecular biology has enabled us to describe various tumour behaviours and tumour-host interactions in molecular terms. Target-based therapy aims to utilise agents counteracting a single species of physiological molecules that functions in the pathological state in question. This new attempt to develop therapeutic agents a priori may be epoch-making in the history of chemotherapy. However, various problems have remained to be overcome in this new category of therapeutics. In this review, current problems in target-based therapy, particularly 1) mechanism and drug design, 2) indication, 3) effects and side effects and 4) verifying process, are discussed.
