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Aurora kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer therapy

Warren Lok1, Rhonda Q Klein, Muhammad Wasif Saif

  • 1Departments of Medical Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

Anti-Cancer Drugs
|December 18, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Aurora kinases (A, B, and C) regulate mitosis. Aurora A and B are overexpressed in cancers, making them targets for new therapies using novel kinase inhibitors currently in clinical trials.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Aurora kinases are crucial serine/threonine kinases regulating cell division (mitosis).
  • Three human aurora kinases exist: Aurora A, Aurora B, and Aurora C.
  • Aurora A and B are frequently overexpressed in various cancers, including lung, brain, and gastrointestinal tumors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the fundamental biology of human aurora kinases.
  • To provide an overview of aurora kinase inhibitors in current clinical development for cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of aurora kinase biology.
  • Survey of preclinical and clinical data on aurora kinase inhibitors.

Main Results:

  • Aurora kinases play a significant role in cell cycle regulation and are implicated in tumorigenesis.
  • Numerous selective and nonselective aurora kinase inhibitors are under investigation.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting aurora kinases represents a promising strategy for cancer treatment.
  • Ongoing clinical investigations are evaluating the efficacy of various aurora kinase inhibitors as anti-tumor agents.

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