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Through the Looking Glass: Time-lapse Microscopy and Longitudinal Tracking of Single Cells to Study Anti-cancer Therapeutics
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Clinical Development of Anti-mitotic Drugs in Cancer

Anna-Maria Olziersky1, S Intidhar Labidi-Galy2

  • 1Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland.

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|June 11, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Mitosis is crucial for cell division and a key target in cancer therapy. Microtubule agents like paclitaxel are effective, but more research is needed to find better biomarkers for anti-mitotic drugs.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Mitosis is a fundamental process for mammalian cell division.
  • Rapid proliferation of cancer cells makes mitosis an attractive therapeutic target.
  • Microtubule targeting agents, like paclitaxel, show significant efficacy in cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current knowledge of mitosis targeting agents used in clinical settings.
  • To highlight the importance of translational research and biomarker identification for anti-mitotic drug response.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on clinical trials of anti-mitotic drugs.
  • Analysis of the efficacy of different classes of mitosis inhibitors.
  • Discussion of the role of biomarkers in predicting patient response.

Main Results:

  • Microtubule targeting agents are among the most successful anti-mitotic drugs in clinical use.
  • Development of specific inhibitors for mitotic kinases and kinesins has yielded limited clinical success compared to microtubule agents.
  • The need for enhanced translational research to identify predictive biomarkers for patient response.

Conclusions:

  • Mitosis remains a critical target for anticancer therapies.
  • Paclitaxel exemplifies the success of microtubule-targeting agents.
  • Further research integrating clinical trials with biomarker discovery is essential for advancing anti-mitotic cancer treatments.
Keywords:
Anti-mitotic drugsAntibody-drug conjugatesAurora kinaseCENP-ECancerKinesin-5MicrotubulesMitosisPLK-1

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