Targeted cancer therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Synonyms

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors include : imatinib, sunitinib, midostaurine and many others

Introduction

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are also known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This is a group of drugs that inhibit the enzyme tyrosine kinase, which is involved in the development, survival and spread of cancer in the body. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as the active ingredients imatinib, sunitinib and others, are used in the treatment of various tumor diseases, for example chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), certain types of lung cancer (non-small cell lung cancer) or renal cell carcinoma. If you are interested in classical chemotherapy, we recommend our main page: Chemotherapy

Indications for tyrosine kinase inhibitors

The tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the market are used in various diseases, mainly cancer, but also in rheumatoid arthritis. The latter is an inflammatory disease of the joints, which initially affects finger and toe joints. The indications for tyrosine kinase inhibitors include: non-small cell lung cancer, a form of lung cancer renal cell carcinoma thyroid carcinoma gastrointestinal stroma tumor or GIST (a tumor of the gastrointestinal tract) certain forms of breast cancer hepatocellular cancer and others. At which stage of the disease the tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used determines the disease and its course.

  • Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a disease of the white blood cells in adulthood
  • Non-small cell lung cancer, a form of lung cancer
  • The renal cell carcinoma
  • The thyroid carcinoma
  • The so-called Gastrointestinal Stroma Tumor or GIST (a tumor of the gastrointestinal tract)
  • Certain forms of breast cancer
  • Liver cell cancer and others.

Active ingredient and effect

Tyrosine kinases are enzymes, i.e. key figures in the metabolism, which are involved in the development and survival of malignant tumors, i.e. cancer. Particularly uncontrolled activities of these enzymes lead to constant growth of cells from which malignant tumors can develop.

Tumour masses displace healthy tissue and scatter degenerate cells in different ways, thus forming metastases in other organ systems. Especially in chronic myeloid leukemia, the increased activity of the enzyme tyrosine kinase plays a decisive role in tumor development and spread. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors inhibit the enzymes and thus prevent the increased cell division of the diseased cells.

In other cancers, too, part of the activity seems to be due to degenerated tyrosine kinases, which explains their effectiveness in treatment. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors act even more specifically on diseased cells than conventional cancer therapeutics, so-called cytostatics, and are therefore associated with comparatively fewer side effects. They are part of the spectrum of active substances used in so-called “targeted therapy” and are produced genetically as monoclonal antibodies.

They thus act on a specific structure of the degenerated tumor cells. Due to their mode of action, tyorsine kinase inhibitors belong to the group of chemotherapeutic agents. There are also other chemotherapeutic drugs, including cytostatic drugs.

If you would like to find out more about them, we recommend our page Substances of Chemotherapy Due to their mode of action, tyorsine kinase inhibitors belong to the group of chemotherapeutic drugs. There are also other chemotherapeutic drugs, including cytostatic drugs. If you would like to find out more about them, we recommend our page Substances of Chemotherapy