any one of a class of drugs that interfere with cell growth in a variety of different ways by inhibiting the action of tyrosine kinases. This family of enzymes, which occur both within cells and as components of cell-membrane receptor sites, have an important role in cell division and cell growth. Many tumour cells have been shown to have both intracellular enzymes and extracellular receptor sites, and a variety of anticancer agents have been developed to inhibit enzyme activity at these sites. Among these drugs are *imatinib, dasatinib, and nilotinib, used for treating chronic myeloid leukaemia; *sunitinib, for treating renal cell carcinoma; and erlotinib, for treating pancreatic cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer. See also epidermal growth factor receptor.... tyrosine kinase inhibitor
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