The ongoing roll-out of Aurora kinase inhibitors in cancer treatment

E. Dotan, Roger B. Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Aurora kinase family comprises three important regulatory proteins of mitosis: Aurora kinases A, B and C. Their dysfunction is associated with abnormal cell division, aneuploidy and possibly tumorigenesis. In addition, overexpression and/or amplification of Aurora kinase A or B has been demonstrated in various cancers. These observations suggested that the Aurora kinases might be attractive therapeutic targets in oncology. Drugs targeting the mitotic spindle such as taxanes and vinca alkaloids have been notably successful in cancer medicine. The Aurora kinase inhibitors represent the latest entrants into this arena. Inhibitors of Aurora kinases have shown promising results in preclinical studies, and are currently under evaluation in numerous clinical trials. Considerable additional work will be required in order to optimize their use in the clinic, including identifying biomarkers for selection of sensitive tumors, refining the administration schedule of these agents and developing useful combinations of Aurora kinase inhibitors with existing cancer therapeutics. This review article will summarize the function of each of the Aurora kinases, with emphasis on their role in tumorigenesis and interactions with other cellular pathways that govern tumor biology. It also discusses those inhibitors that are in the clinic and summarizes the early clinical data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)845-858
Number of pages14
JournalDrugs of the Future
Volume35
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The ongoing roll-out of Aurora kinase inhibitors in cancer treatment'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this