CDK inhibitor

This article is about the medical therapy. For the cell cycle protein, see Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor protein.

A CDK (cyclin-dependent kinase) inhibitor is any chemical that inhibits the function of CDKs. They are used to treat cancers by preventing overproliferation of cancer cells. The US FDA approved the first drug of this type, palbociclib (Ibrance),[1] a CDK4/6 inhibitor, in February 2015, for use in postmenopausal women with breast cancer that is estrogen receptor positive and HER2 negative. While there are multiple cyclin/CDK complexes regulating the cell cycle, CDK inhibitors targeting CDK4/6 have been the most successful; four CDK4/6 inhibitors have been FDA approved.[2] No inhibitors targeting other CDKs have been FDA approved, but several compounds are in clinical trials.

  1. ^ "FDA approves Ibrance for postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer". Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. ^ Mughal, Muhammad Jameel; Bhadresha, Kinjal; Kwok, Hang Fai (2023-01-01). "CDK inhibitors from past to present: A new wave of cancer therapy". Seminars in Cancer Biology. 88: 106–122. doi:10.1016/j.semcancer.2022.12.006. ISSN 1044-579X. PMID 36565895.