Targeted therapy for breast cancer: An overview of drug classes and outcomes

The last 25 years have seen significant growth in new therapeutic options for breast cancer, termed targeted therapies based on their ability to block specific pathways known to drive breast tumor growth and survival. Introduction of these drugs has been made possible through advances in the understanding of breast cancer biology. While the promise of targeted therapy for breast cancer has been clear for some time, the experience of the clinical use of multiple drugs and drug classes allows us to now present a summary and perspective as to the success and impact of this endeavor. Here we will review breast cancer targeted therapeutics in clinical use. We will provide the rationale for their indications and summarize clinical data in patients with different breast cancer subtypes, their impact on breast cancer progression and survival and their major adverse effects. The focus of this review will be on the development that has occurred within classes of targeted therapies and subsequent impact on breast cancer patient outcomes. We will conclude with a perspective on the role of targeted therapy in breast cancer treatment and highlight future areas of development.