Table 2.

Selected clinical trials using MAPK inhibitors for different pathological conditions^a

Compound	Background	Targeted pathological conditions (patient number, n)	Clinicaltrials.gov identifier	Status
SB-681323 and methotrexate	SB-681323 is a p38 MAPK inhibitor and methotrexate is commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. This trial sought to examine whether SB-681323 can have beneficial effects in inflammatory conditions. Because other p38 MAPK inhibitors were shown to cause liver damage, this study aimed to examine the effects of co-administration of the two compounds on liver function. This is a phase I study	Rheumatoid arthritis (n = 15)	NCT00419809	Completed but no study results posted
SB-681323	A phase II study to assess the safety and tolerability of SB-681323 and the levels of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis	Rheumatoid arthritis (n = 84)	NCT00320450	Completed but no study results posted
Sorafenib tosylate	Sorafenib (Bay 43-9006), a multi-kinase inhibitor that also blocks Raf, was investigated in this phase II study to examine whether it inhibited tumor growth by blocking enzymes needed for growth and by stopping blood flow to the tumor	Metastatic thyroid carcinoma (n = 16)	NCT00095693	Completed but no study results posted

^aThese are a few selected examples of clinical trials that are investigating MAPK inhibitors for various pathological conditions based on information obtained from www.ClinicalTrials.gov. At present, there are 63 ongoing clinical studies using inhibitors against different members of the MAPK family. Systemic administration of MAPK inhibitors is being used to treat various pathological conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, metastatic thyroid cancer, lung cancer and neurological conditions.