CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Cancer Therapy: A Novel Treatement Strategy for Bladder Cancer

Patients with metastatic bladder cancer (mBC) treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy have a limited median survival of only around 14 months [1]. Despite over 30 years of basic and clinical research, until recently no therapeutic options beyond cisplatin-based therapy had entered clinical routine and, at least in the US, none of the tested agents had been approved for second-line treatment. This has changed with the advent of immune checkpoint blockade, including especially PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The high response rates of 24% over a 14.4 month follow up led to the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a second line therapy for these patients, and it is likely that this marks the beginning of a new era in the systemic treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer [2–4]. The strong clinical need to improve the medical management of this disease for those patients, not responding to current therapy has led to an increased molecular understanding of bladder cancer and has forstered the development of many potential molecular manipulations and targeted strategies beyond the new immune-oncologic approaches. Among the molecular alterations indentified in bladder cancer, cell cycle deregulation appears to be a key driver of disease progression. Target-directed therapy against CDK4/6 is an emerging strategy to regain control of cell cycle deregulation. Here, we provide an overview of the current status of CDK4/6 inhibitors in cancer therapy, their potential use in mBC and the challenges for their clinical use.