PROTEIN-KINASE INHIBITORS FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER

Protein kinases are integrated into nearly every facet of the regulati on of mammalian cellular proliferation. The identification of particul ar kinase isoforms and tissue-specific expression affords the possibil ity of precise targeting of specific regulatory pathways if potent, hi ghly selective, cell-penetrable inhibitors can be developed. At the ve ry least, such inhibitors would provide opportunities to dissect compl ex interconnected regulatory pathways in intact cells, and sustain the promise of the development of therapeutic leads, This paper reviews r ecent developments in the identification of protein kinase targets for the treatment of cancer, and in the design of selective inhibitors fo r these enzymes.