Is acotinib/cancostat a targeted drug or a chemotherapy drug? What is the difference between the two?

Acalabrutinib (Acalabrutinib) is a targeted drug, specifically a BTK (Brutons tyrosine kinase) inhibitor. BTK is a key enzyme in the B cell receptor signaling pathway and plays an important role in the growth, proliferation and differentiation of B cells. By inhibiting the activity of BTK and blocking the B cell receptor signaling pathway, acotinib effectively inhibits the proliferation of B cells and the progression of tumors. It has a significant therapeutic effect especially in B cell malignant tumors such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Unlike chemotherapy drugs, acotinib's mechanism of action is precisely targeted. It treats cancer by inhibiting specific molecules and signaling pathways. Chemotherapy drugs usually work by systemically inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells or inducing cancer cell death. Chemotherapy drugs often work by killing rapidly dividing cells, which not only includes cancer cells, but may also cause damage to normal rapidly dividing cells (such as hematopoietic cells, gastrointestinal epithelial cells, etc.), leading to more significant side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, bone marrow suppression, etc. The targeted effect of acotinib makes its side effects relatively mild, especially causing less damage to normal cells.

In addition, as a targeted drug, acotinib can specifically intervene in specific pathogenic mechanisms during the treatment process, avoiding the widespread side effects that may be caused by chemotherapy drugs. By inhibitingBTK, acotinib can precisely control the activity of B cells and reduce the impact on other systems of the body. Therefore, the side effects of acotinib are more controllable, and patients can usually undergo long-term treatment with better quality of life.

In short, acotinib is a targeted drug that works through a specific mechanism and is specifically used to treat B cell-related malignant tumors. Compared with chemotherapy drugs, it has significant advantages in side effects and targeting, making it an important choice for the treatment of patients with B-cell malignancies.

Reference materials:https://www.calquence.com/