Current practice in cancer pharmacotherapy

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally and with worldwide increases in life expectancy, the incidence and mortality for most cancers is expected to increase. While surgery and radiation therapy remain the first-line treatment for many cancers, pharmacotherapy has always been an important therapeutic option, especially in the management of locally advanced or metastatic disease. Traditionally, chemotherapy has been the primary pharmacotherapeutic approach used in the treatment of cancer; however, as our knowledge and understanding of cancer pathophysiology have advanced, new treatment options have been developed. Identification of tumor biomarkers and other molecular targets has driven the development of new pharmacotherapeutic options, namely immune- and biological pharmacotherapies, which are now used either in combination with chemotherapy or as monotherapy in the current practice for cancer treatment. In this chapter, we consider and explore the pharmacotherapies currently used worldwide in clinical practice for the treatment of the five most common cancers: lung, female (breast), prostate, colon, and skin.