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Is Bosulif a chemotherapy drug?

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 3, 2023.

Official answer

by Drugs.com

Bosulif (bosutinib monohydrate) is used to treat cancer but is known as a targeted treatment because it inhibits specific kinases that promote the growth of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Targeted treatments differ from traditional chemotherapy agents because they only target specific proteins on a cell, rather than having an effect on all dividing cells, like traditional chemotherapy agents do.

Bosulif (bosutinib monohydrate) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adults and children aged 1 year and older with newly-diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML (Ph+ CML). It is also approved to treat adults with CML who are no longer benefiting from other treatment options or can’t tolerate them.

References
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bosulif. https://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=884
  • Paul MK, Mukhopadhyay AK. Tyrosine kinase - Role and significance in Cancer. Int J Med Sci. 2004;1(2):101-115. doi:10.7150/ijms.1.101.
  • American Cancer Society. Targeted therapy? https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/targeted-therapy.html#:~:text=Targeted%20therapy%20is%20a%20type,%2C%20surgery%2C%20or%20radiation%20therapy.

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