3,4-Diarylmaleimides Effectively Inhibit Proliferation of FLT3-ITD-Positive Leukemic Cells, Induce Apoptosis and Show Additive Effects in Combination with Chemotherapeutic Drugs.

Abstract Internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations of FLT3 are present in leukemic blasts of approximately 30% of AML patients. ITD-mutations of FLT3 confer a worse prognosis and decreased overall survival. Therefore, FLT3-tyrosine kinase is considered an attractive drug target in AML and several FLT3-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently being tested in clinical trials (CEP701, MLN518, Sorafenib, PKC412). However, using these drugs as monotherapy, against the setting of remarkable efficacy has emerged the problem of short duration of remission indicating rapid development of secondary resistance. In addition, up to 30% of patients may show primary resistance to currently availa…