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Targeted Drug Therapy for Breast Cancer
Targeted drug therapy use s medicines that are directed at (target) proteins on breast cancer cells that help them grow, spread, and live longer. Targeted drugs work to destroy cancer cells or slow down their growth. They have side effects different from chemotherapy .
Some targeted therapy drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies, work in more than one way to control cancer cells and may also be considered immunotherapy because they boost the immune system.
Like chemotherapy, these drugs enter the bloodstream and reach almost all areas of the body, which makes them useful against cancers that have spread to distant parts of the body. Targeted drugs sometimes work even when chemo drugs do not. Some targeted drugs can help other types of treatment work better.
Several types of targeted therapy drugs can be used to treat breast cancer.
On this page
More information about targeted therapy
To learn more about how targeted drugs are used to treat cancer, see Targeted Cancer Therapy.
To learn about some of the side effects listed here and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.
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The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
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Last Revised: May 5, 2025
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