Posted: July 7, 2012

Dr. Stark recently presented at Medical  Grand Rounds at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He devoted the hour to the enzyme Tyrosine Kinase, its biology and the inhibitors of that enzyme which have been developed to treat a variety of cancers. His talk, entitled “Tyrosine Kinase: from Molecule to Bedside” can be viewed here. He has since given expanded version of this talk to the Endocrine Research Group at EVMS.  Tyrosine kinases make the world go round.  They are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of high energy phosphate molecules within cells which in turn provide the energy to make the cell’s metabolic functions work.  Cancers make kinases that are different from normal and as such are targets for novel anticancer therapy that targets only the abnormal kinases.  Imitinab, or Gleevec, was the first such TK inhibitor.  It has revolutionized the treatment of some chronic leukemias.  Dr. Stark’s talk delved into this TK in great detail.