MEK inhibitor

A MEK inhibitor is a chemical or drug that inhibits the mitogen-activated protein kinase enzymes MEK1 and/or MEK2. They can be used to affect the MAPK/ERK pathway which is often overactive in some cancers. (See MAPK/ERK pathway#Clinical significance.)

Hence MEK inhibitors have potential for treatment of some cancers,[1] especially BRAF-mutated melanoma,[2] and KRAS/BRAF mutated colorectal cancer.[3]

  1. ^ Wang, Ding; Boerner, Scott A.; Winkler, James D.; Lorusso, Patricia M. (2007). "Clinical experience of MEK inhibitors in cancer therapy". Biochim Biophys Acta. 1773 (8): 1248–55. doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2006.11.009. PMID 17194493.
  2. ^ "ASCO: MEK Inhibitors—Alone or Paired With a BRAF Inhibitor—Increase Options, Benefits for Patients With BRAF-Mutated Advanced Melanoma". 2012.
  3. ^ KRAS/BRAF mutation status and ERK1/2 activation as biomarkers for MEK1/2 inhibitor therapy in colorectal cancer. 2009
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.