According to the study, a combination of a CDK2 inhibitor plus an immune checkpoint inhibitor resulted in eradication of colorectal and breast cancers in animal models. Based on this research, the Dana-Farber team plans to test the concept in a clinical trial.

“CDK2 inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials now, primarily in forms of ovarian and breast cancer known to require CDK2 for cancer cell growth,” says co-senior author and Dana-Farber scientist Peter Sicinski, MD, Ph.D. “But we’ve found that CDK2 inhibitors can be used in a way we did not expect, to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.”