title: Science and mechanism of action of targeted therapies in cancer treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify common signaling pathways that control cancer growth and discuss the mechanism of action of cancer targeted therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical and nursing literature, research articles, published clinical guidelines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding the signaling pathways and genetic mutations that control cancer cell growth elucidates an understanding of the mechanism of targeted therapies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To understand the mechanism of action of targeted therapies, oncology nurses must first be familiar with the most common signaling pathways. Adding to this foundation, the nurse can easily learn about the classes of targeted therapies and the strategies to minimize and manage common side effects.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wujcik
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Signaling pathways; monoclonal antibodies; targeted therapy; tyrosine kinase inhibitors