About the book
Protein kinase driven phosphorylation is one of the vital mechanisms controlling intracellular signalling pathways that regulate many cellular processes, such as cell division, proliferation, growth, survival and apoptosis. Alteration of different protein kinases can result in remarkable changes in these processes. Moreover, these protein kinases are frequently recognized as oncogenic and can be crucial for the survival and spread of cancer cells. Because of the fundamental role of protein kinases in cell biology and their function in numerous sarcomas and cancers, an intensive search for new kinase inhibitors in academia and industries has been enduring for the last two decades. Protein kinase has become the most imperative and commercial class of drug target which is attracting pharmaceutical industries to spend 30 % of their current research investments only in developing kinase inhibitors for various therapeutic implications. This is exemplified by the fact that 75 drugs targeting protein kinase have been clinically approved to date. More than 100 kinase inhibitors are in the final stages of development and likely to be approved in the coming years. There is plenty of scope to work in the area of exploring protein kinase as only about 10 % of kinases have been studied extensively to date. The development of kinase inhibitors is expected to be at the forefront of medicine for the foreseeable future.
In this context, this book intends to provide a collection of research and review articles from the experts focusing on protein kinases signalling pathways as a molecular drug target. Various chapters on the mechanism of action and antitumor activity of protein kinase inhibitors on various cancer types will also be presented. New opportunities, challenges and future perspectives in the context of the function of protein kinases will also be discussed in different chapters.
