Fact 13: Targeted Therapies in MTC Treatment
While surgery serves as the cornerstone of MTC treatment, advanced disease stages often require additional therapeutic modalities. The advent of targeted therapies has drastically changed the treatment landscape of MTC, especially for metastatic disease or cases where surgery isn’t an option.
Targeted therapies aim to attack specific characteristics of cancer cells, such as a protein that allows the cancer cells to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. In MTC, the RET mutations provide an excellent target, and several RET inhibitors are now available for use.
Cabozantinib and vandetanib are two such RET inhibitors approved for use in progressive or symptomatic MTC. They block the activity of the RET protein and other proteins that contribute to tumor growth and progression.
While these drugs have significantly improved the prognosis of advanced MTC, they are not without their side effects. Careful monitoring is required to manage these side effects and ensure the best possible quality of life for the patient. (13)
