Erlotinib

Erlotinib hydrochloride (Tarceva) is a drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and several other types of cancer. It is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which acts on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). It is marketed in the United States by Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals and elsewhere by Roche. Erlotinib is an EGFR inhibitor. Similar to gefitinib, erlotinib specifically targets the epidermal growth factor recepto... more

Erlotinib hydrochloride (Tarceva) is a drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and several other types of cancer. It is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which acts on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). It is marketed in the United States by Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals and elsewhere by Roche. Erlotinib is an EGFR inhibitor. Similar to gefitinib, erlotinib specifically targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, which is highly expressed and occasionally mutated in various forms of cancer. It binds in a reversible fashion to the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding site of the receptor. For the signal to be transmitted, two members of the EGFR family need to come together to form a homodimer. These then use the molecule of ATP to autophosphorylate each other, which causes a conformational change in their intracellular structure, exposing a further binding site for binding proteins that cause a signal cascade to the nucleus.... less