Cyclin D3-CDK6 levels predict tumor response to CDK4/6 inhibitors
In an article published online in Nature on Wednesday, scientists reported that high levels of tumor cyclin D3-cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) correlated with long-term tumor regression after blockade of CDK4 and CDK6. Inhibitors of CDK4 and CDK6 are approved to treat breast cancer, and are in clinical trials for a variety of cancers.
The team, led by Piotr Sicinski of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tested CDK4/6 inhibitor Kisqali ribociclib in melanoma xenograft models. Among xenografts from 33 melanoma patients, three had long-term regression and all three tumors were derived from patient cells with high pre-xenograft levels of cyclin D3 and CDK6. In contrast, non-regressing tumors all had low pre-xenograft levels of cyclin D3 and CDK6. ...