Targeting receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a quickly progressing, heterogeneous clonal disorder of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Significant progress in understanding the pathogenesis of AML has been achieved in the past few years. Two major types of genetic events are thought to give rise to leukemic transformation: alterations in the activity of transcription factors controlling hematopoietic differentiation and activation of components of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling pathways. This has led to the development of promising new therapeutic strategies for the disease. In this article, we will discuss recent developments in the field of molecularly targeted therapies for AML, which involve RTKs such as FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt3), c-Kit and signal transduction via the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Initial results imply that targeting RTKs is a very promising approach for AML and that other receptors, such as the insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR), could also represent new targets in the future.