Validating aurora b as an anticancer drug target

Failure of cell-cycle checkpoint regulations often results in aneuploidy and genetic instability, culminating either in cell death or in cancer.

Despite the robust rate of discovery and the development of mitosis-selective inhibitors, the unpredictable complexities of the human body's response to these drugs still herald the biggest challenge towards clinical success.

Undoubtedly, the need to bridge the gap between promising preclinical trials and effective translational bedside treatment prompts further investigations towards mapping out the mechanistic pathways of MCD, understanding how these drugs work as medicine in the body and more comprehensive target validations.

These observations led to a number of programs among academic and pharmaceutical organizations to discovering small molecule Aurora kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer drugs.

This review will summarize the known Aurora kinase inhibitors currently in the clinic, and discuss the current and future directions.