ABSTRACT
The paradigm of cancer research has been changing and cancer therapies with new mechanisms of action from conventional chemotherapies are being developed. Conventional chemotherapies are also often known as cytotoxic agents and utilize various mechanisms important in mitosis to kill dividing cells, such as tumor cells. Cytostatic agents, on the other hand, exploit alternate mechanisms, such as inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels (antiangiogenic agents), initiating tumor cell death (proapoptotic agents), or inhibiting tumor cell division (epidermal growth factor inhibitors). Many newer therapies (including both cytostatic and cytotoxic agents) are also often referred to as targeted, as they target specific molecules or pathways important to cancer cells. It is expected that by focusing treatment on important molecules or mechanisms, the therapies will be more effective and result in less toxicity than many traditional treatments. While many of these compounds are at a preclinical stage or in early clinical testing, there are already some well-known targeted therapies.
