Pharmacological cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors: Implications for colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer accounts for a significant proportion of cancer deaths worldwide. The need to develop more chemotherapeutic agents to combat this disease is critical. Cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs), along with its binDing partner cyclins, serve to control the growth of cells through the cell cycle. A new class of drugs, termed CDK inhibitors, has been studied in preclinical and now clinical trials. These inhibitors are believed to act as an anti-cancer drug by blocking CDKs to block the uncontrolled cellular proliferation that is hallmark of cancers like colorectal cancer. CDK article provides overview of the emerging drug class of CDK inhibitors and provides a list of ones that are currently in clinical trials.