What is the Difference Between Chemotherapy and Targeted Therapy?

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy are both cancer treatments, but they differ in their approach and side effects. Here are the main differences between the two:

Mechanism of action: Traditional chemotherapy is cytotoxic to most cells, meaning it can damage normal, healthy cells in addition to damaging and killing cancer cells. Targeted therapy, on the other hand, focuses on specific changes that make cancer

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Comparative Table: Chemotherapy vs Targeted Therapy

Here is a table comparing the differences between chemotherapy and targeted therapy:

Feature	Chemotherapy	Targeted Therapy
Definition	Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells by stopping or slowing their growth and division.	Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that targets specific proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread.
Type of Drugs	Chemotherapy drugs are typically cytotoxic, meaning they kill cells that are dividing quickly.	Targeted therapies are usually either small-molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies, with some being classified as hormone therapies, signal transduction inhibitors, gene expression modulators, apoptosis inducers, angiogenesis inhibitors, immunotherapies, and toxin delivery molecules.
Effect on Normal Cells	Chemotherapy can also kill normal cells when they are dividing quickly, which can lead to various side effects.	Targeted therapy aims to only affect abnormal proteins and molecules, minimizing damage to normal cells.
Side Effects	Chemotherapy is generally associated with more severe side effects due to its impact on both cancerous and normal dividing cells.	Targeted therapies are generally better tolerated than traditional chemotherapy, but can still cause serious side effects.
Resistance and Combination with Other Treatments	Chemotherapy may become less effective over time as cancer cells develop resistance.	Targeted therapy may work best when used with more than one type of targeted therapy or with other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Optimal Dosing and Effectiveness	Determining optimal dosing for chemotherapy is relatively straightforward, as it is often determined through clinical trials.	Determining optimal dosing for targeted therapy is more challenging, as some molecules may be present in normal tissues and affect overall immune function.

Source: Information from the search results was used to create the table.

Guilherme Mazui is graduated in journalism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a master's degree in Communication from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition, he has experience in advertising writing and has worked as a content editor in several companies.