Median maximum concentration is reached after 2–6 h following single and repeat dosing of oral gilteritinib (rapid absorption with or without food); mean elimination half-life was 113 h. Elimination was primarily via feces. Gilteritinib is primarily metabolized via cytochrome CYP3A4; coadministration of gilteritinib with itraconazole (a strong P-glycoprotein inhibitor and CYP3A4 inhibitor) or rifampicin (a strong P-glycoprotein inducer and CYP3A inducer) can significantly interfere with its pharmacokinetic profile [
10]. Compared with first-generation multitargeted TKIs, it is more selective to
FLT3FLT3 and has greater potency. It blocks
FLT3FLT3 receptors’ ATP-binding site competitively, thus inhibiting receptor signaling and halting cell cycle [
11]. Cellular experiments have shown powerful inhibitory effects on
FLT3FLT3 mutations (
FLT3FLT3–ITD and
FLT3FLT3-D835Y point mutations in particular) [
12]. Since both
FLT3FLT3–ITD and
FLT3FLT3–TKD mutations promote constitutive
FLT3FLT3 kinase activity, sustaining leukemic cell proliferation and survival, gilteritinib-mediated inhibitory effects have the potential to lessen the leukemia burden of AML patients (
Figure 1). It is classified as a type I inhibitor, generally unaffected by mutations in the activation loop (e.g., at D835) [
13]. Moreover, gilteritinib promotes apoptosis in
FLT3FLT3–ITD mutations carrying tumor cells in vitro [
9]. In xenografted mice models, oral administration of gilteritinib lowered phosphorylated
FLT3FLT3 levels by 40% after 1 h [
12], while a single dosage was sufficient to reduce the phosphorylation of STAT-5, a known downstream
FLT3FLT3 target [
12]. Following successive 120 mg doses of gilteritinib in patients with R/R-AML, approximately 90% of
FLT3FLT3 phosphorylation was decreased, with inhibition starting to take place 24 h after the first dosage [
9]. When oral gilteritinib (1–10 mg/kg) was given to mice once every day for 28 days, tumor development was significantly suppressed by 63–100% (
p = 0.05) [
12]. Although gilteritinib did not influence the in vitro reduction in tumor growth or induction of apoptosis, stimulation of the
FLT3 ligand can raise the chance of resistance to other
FLT3 inhibitors [
14]. Given that
AXL activation is a known resistance mechanism to
FLT3 inhibitors and that
AXL inhibition can slow the growth of
FLT3–ITD AML tumors, gilteritinib additional activity against
AXL may also be advantageous [
15]. In comparison with other less specific TKIs, gilteritinib may present a lower clinical risk of side events, such as myelosuppression [
12]. Inhibition of
c-KIT (an oncogene encoding
KIT, a platelet-derived growth factor receptor essential for hematopoiesis) is expected to provoke severe myelosuppressive effects because
FLT3 and
KIT structures are remarkably similar [
10]. Thus, the risk of myelosuppression with gilteritinib is anticipated to be lower than with other TKIs because it has no impact on
c-KIT [
10]. Based on in vitro findings, CYP3A4 primarily metabolizes gilteritinib [
10]. The main metabolites identified in animal investigations are M17, M16, and M10 (all accounting for less than 10% of the parent exposure); it is unknown if these metabolites have any effect on
FLT3 or
AXL receptors [
9]. Since gilteritinib is a P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate, a multidrug transporter that actively pumps substances out of the cell and away from their target regions [
16], it might exert an inhibitory effect on BCRP, P-gp, and OCT1 in the small intestine as well as the liver [
9]. In vivo, gilteritinib neither induces nor inhibits CYP3A4 or MATE1. Since gilteritinib may decrease the effectiveness of 5-HT2B or sigma nonspecific receptor targeting medications in vitro (such as escitalopram), it should only be used in rare conditions together with these medications [
9]. Reduced gilteritinib plasma concentrations are caused by coadministration with a P-gp and potent CYP3A inducer, hence this should be avoided [
9]. Conversely, gilteritinib exposure is increased when it is administered concurrently with a potent CYP3A and/or P-gp inhibitor [
10]. For instance, coadministration of a single 10 mg dose of gilteritinib with 200 mg of itraconazole per day for 28 days raised Cmax and AUC in healthy individuals by 20% and 120%, respectively [
9]. A concurrent strong CYP3A and/or P-gp inhibitor increased exposure in individuals with R/R-AML by about 1.5 times [
9].