Molecular Targeted Drug (3) Molecular Targeted Drugs and Recent Trends in Breast Cancer

Abstract

The number of molecular-targeted drugs available for breast cancer therapy has steadily increased in recent years and plays a central role in the systemic treatment of breast cancer.

Apart from endocrine drugs, trastuzumab, an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) drug for treating HER2 overexpressing breast cancer, available since April 2001 in Japan, is well-known in the field of breast cancer. However, there are five types of anti-HER2 drugs available as of January 2022, with expanded indications ranging from treatment for metastatic breast cancer to postoperative adjuvant therapy and preoperative medication. Other molecular-targeted drugs, such as angiogenesis inhibitors, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors, cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors, poly adenosine diphosphate (ADP) ribose polymerase inhibitors, and immunological checkpoint inhibitors, have been used in clinical practice based on the results of numerous clinical trials. In December 2021, a new option to use a molecular-targeted drug as an insured medical treatment was added to postoperative adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer, an alteration after approximately 20 years since the introduction of aromatase inhibitors.

As described above, molecular-targeted drugs are being developed yearly, but there remain limitations to drugs that can be used to treat each breast cancer subtype. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately select and use therapeutic agents based on subtype and time of introduction.