A series of novel aryl-methanone derivatives as inhibitors of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) in FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia.

Mutants of the FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) with duplications in the juxtamembrane domain (FLT3-ITD) act as drivers of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Potent tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKi) of FLT3-ITD entered clinical trials and showed a promising, but transient success due to the occurrence of secondary drug-resistant AML clones. A further caveat of drugs targeting FLT3-ITD is the co-targeting of other RTKs which are required for normal hematopoiesis.