Targeted Therapy for Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancers

Targeted therapies are designed to treat only the cancer cells and minimize damage to normal, healthy cells. Cancer treatments that “target” cancer cells often have fewer side effects and are more effective than traditional chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments. This is because chemotherapy and radiation therapy cannot tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy cells, so they often harm healthy cells and this can cause side effects.

The following targeted therapy is sometimes used to treat laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers:

• Erbitux^® (cetuximab) - Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody, or protein used by the immune system. It can find and attach itself to areas on the surface of cancer cells (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR]) that can signal the cells to grow. Cetuximab is given by an injection into the vein.
  

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.