Protein kinase inhibitors as a therapeutic modality

Most of the signal transduction pathways are mediated by protein kinases regulating every aspect of cell function. Mutations which deregulate their expression or their function or both result in cancers. Therefore, protein kinase inhibitors has become the focus of development of new therapies for cancer. Almost all 120 protein tyrosine kinases are involved in signaling, whereas only a handful of Ser/Thr kinases are involved. Thus, most of the effort is directed toward the development of tyrosine phosphorylation inhibitors. The success of Gleevec in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and of Iressa for lung cancer validates the approach.