Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors make up a class of drugs that attach to and block the action of a group of proteins called tyrosine kinases. Tyrosine kinases cause a chemical reaction that helps to transmit signals from the outside to the inside of the cell. Often these signals regulate cell growth and division. Thus, excessive tyrosine kinase activity can lead to the out-of-control growth found in cancer. There are many tyrosine kinases, and each inhibitor is designed to block just one of them. As a result, a patient can be treated with the inhibitor that blocks only the tyrosine kinase that functions abnormally in his/her cancer. This allows all of the other tyrosine kinases to carry out their usual functions throughout the body, helping to minimize unwanted side effects.