Clinical experience with aurora kinase inhibitors: a review.

The aurora kinase family of serine/threonine kinases comprises three members, designated auroras A, B, and C. Auroras A and B are essential components of the mitotic pathway, ensuring proper chromosome assembly, formation of the mitotic spindle, and cytokinesis. The role of aurora C is less clear. Overexpression of aurora A and B has been observed in several tumor types, and has been linked with a poor prognosis of cancer patients. Several small molecules targeting aurora kinases A and B or both have been evaluated preclinically and in early phase I trials. In this review we aim to summarize the most recent advances in the development of aurora kinase inhibitors, with a focus on the clinical data.