Université Libre de Bruxelles

The CDK4/6 inhibitory drugs including palbociclib (Ibrance) are now standard of care for thetreatment of advanced breast cancers. CDK4, the primary target of these drugs, is a central enzymein cell cycle regulation, the process by which a cell duplicates its genetic material and shares itequally between two daughter cells. This process is altered in most cancers, leading to uncontrolledcell multiplication. Our research team identified a modification of CDK4, its activatingphosphorylation on T172, as the most relevant biomarker predicting sensitivity to these new drugs.We use this diagnostic tool and other derived tools to assess the extent to which advanced cancersof the thyroid gland including anaplastic carcinomas, currently without effective treatment, couldrespond to CDK4 inhibitory drugs, and evaluate new drug combinations involving these inhibitors.