Is Imatinib a chemotherapy drug?

Imatinib (Imatinib) is not a traditional chemotherapy drug, but a targeted therapy drug. It belongs to a class of drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (tyrosine kinase inhibitors), which have important differences from traditional chemotherapy drugs in terms of mechanism of action, targets and treatment methods.

Traditional chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by interfering with the rapid division of cancer cells and normal cells. These drugs are usually non-specific and therefore affect the division and growth of normal cells in the body, leading to a series of adverse side effects such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, immune system suppression, etc.

In contrastIn contrast, imatinib is a targeted therapy drug that specifically targets abnormal signaling pathways in cancer cells. The primary targets of imatinib are the BCR-ABL fusion protein (in chronic myelogenous leukemia, CML) and the KIT tyrosine kinase (in cortical renal cancer, GIST). These proteins play key roles in the growth and division of cancer cells, and imatinib controls cancer progression by inhibiting their activity.

Imatinib was launched in China as early as 2003. The domestic medical insurance price is about 700 yuan, and the specification is 100mg*60. Due to the large differences in medical insurance in different places, please consult the local pharmacy or medical insurance bureau for specific prices. Foreign medicines are divided into original drugs and generic drugs. Original drugs are mainly Turkish original drugs, and the price is relatively high, about 3300 yuan; generic drugs are mainly Indian generic drugs, and the Indian generic drugs specifications 100mg*120 are priced at around a few hundred yuan, which is much cheaper than domestic ones. The ingredients of foreign original drugs and generic drugs are basically the same as those of domestic imatinib.