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.
Parallel case, not today's task: choosing an antibiotic for an infection.
Comparison (parallel case)
Feature | Narrow-spectrum antibiotic | Broad-spectrum antibiotic
What it acts on | One group of bacteria, through a target those bacteria carry | Many kinds of bacteria at once
Who it can work for | Only patients whose infection is caused by bacteria with that target | Most patients with a bacterial infection
How eligibility is decided | A culture and sensitivity test on the patient's sample | Often started before any test result is back
Harm to the body's own bacteria | Less, because most gut bacteria lack the target | More, which is why diarrhea and yeast infections can follow
How it stops working | The bacteria change the target or pump the drug out | Resistance can spread across many species at once
Who qualifies in the parallel case:
Practice patient Q-1: the culture grows a species the narrow drug acts on, and the sensitivity test shows the drug kills it. Q-1 qualifies.
Practice patient Q-2: the culture grows a species that lacks the drug's target. Q-2 does not qualify; the drug would bring its side effects with no benefit.
One reason the treatment can fail: if a few bacteria in the infection already carry a changed target, the drug kills the rest and leaves those few room to grow, so the infection returns and no longer responds.
How to use this: build your own two-column table for targeted therapy and chemotherapy, and decide who qualifies from the practice case data on today's page.
| Feature | Narrow-spectrum antibiotic | Broad-spectrum antibiotic |
|---|---|---|
| Acts on | One group of bacteria with a target | Many kinds of bacteria |
| Eligibility | Culture and sensitivity test | Often started before results |
| Own bacteria harmed | Fewer | More |
| How it fails | Target changes or drug pumped out | Resistance across many species |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Models the targeted-therapy task on a parallel case from infection treatment: a two-column comparison, the lab result that decides who qualifies, and one reason the treatment can stop working. It does not use today's cancer drugs or today's patients.
- 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 in Schoology.
Turn in: Two-column table comparing targeted therapy and chemotherapy, with qualifying-patient markup and resistance explanation.
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Schoology attaches your name to your upload; on the page itself, write your period and code. 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.