Difference in Mechanism of Action of Targeted Therapy, Chemotherapy

What is the difference between chemotherapy and targeted therapies? — Name withheld on request

Targeted therapies are antineoplastic agents that enable precise destruction of cancer cells. They work differently from chemotherapeutic therapies in that they disrupt the activity of specific molecules involved in the process of carcinogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis.

The targeted molecule may serve as a switch that regulates cell growth and development of a tumor cell or allows the cell to enter apoptosis and programmed cell death. Targeted therapies focus on a specific pathway of proteins and/or antibodies that play an important role in cellular changes, migration of cancer cells, and the development of new blood vessels to disrupt their processes contributing to cancer growth.

As a result of how they function, targeted therapies are believed to be more effective and less toxic to normal cells than chemotherapeutic therapies.