Definition

An inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon administration, zanubrutinib inhibits the activity of BTK and prevents the activation of the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) signaling pathway. This prevents both B-cell activation and BTK-mediated activation of downstream survival pathways, which leads to the inhibition of the growth of malignant B-cells that overexpress BTK. BTK, a member of the Src-related BTK/Tec family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases, is overexpressed in B-cell malignancies; it plays an important role in B-lymphocyte development, activation, signaling, proliferation and survival.