Targeted therapy
Mon, Nov 23, 2026 · Week 14 · Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions)
Today's goal: Explain how targeted therapy attacks specific molecules so it spares more healthy cells.
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Targeted therapy comparison (sample)
Feature | Targeted therapy | Broad chemotherapy
What it acts on | One specific protein the tumor overproduces | Any cell that is dividing quickly
Who it can work for | Only patients whose tumor carries that target | Not restricted by a molecular target
How eligibility is decided | A marker test run on the tumor tissue | Stage, tumor features, and overall health
Healthy tissue affected | Mainly cells that also carry the target, so fewer | Hair follicles, gut lining, bone marrow
How it stops working | The tumor mutates the target so the drug no longer fits | Tumor cells develop broader survival changes
Who qualifies in the sample case:
Patient A, marker positive. The tumor overexpresses the target protein, so the drug has something to bind and this patient qualifies.
Patient B, marker negative. Does not qualify. Giving the drug anyway would carry its side effects with none of its benefit, because there is nothing in that tumor for it to bind.
One reason targeted therapy can fail: a tumor is not one uniform population. If a small group of cells already carries an altered version of the target, the drug clears everything around them and leaves those cells the room to grow, so the cancer returns resistant to the drug that worked the first time.
The line I want to remember: the marker test is not paperwork that happens before treatment, it is the reason the treatment can work at all.
| Feature | Targeted therapy | Broad chemotherapy |
|---|---|---|
| Acts on | One specific overproduced protein | Any fast-dividing cell |
| Eligibility | Tumor marker test | Stage and overall health |
| Healthy tissue hit | Mainly target-carrying cells | Hair, gut lining, bone marrow |
| How it fails | Target mutates so the drug cannot bind | Broader survival changes |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the targeted-therapy task: a two-column comparison against broad chemotherapy, the marker result that decides who qualifies in the sample case, and one reason the therapy can stop working.
- Name the variables and include units.
- Enter observations without changing the raw values.
- Check labels, calculations, and patterns before interpreting the data.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Add the comparison table and both qualification decisions to your Unit 3 PLTW tracker, and submit it on Schoology.
Turn in: Targeted therapy comparison table
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.
Open Schoology PDF upload helpIf you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about targeted therapy. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.
It builds this reusable test skill: Reading a tumor marker result to decide whether a targeted drug can work at all.
- Name the concept or data pattern being tested.
- Cross out choices that violate that rule or the evidence.
- Justify the best remaining choice before checking the answer.