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Nature Reviews Cancer 9, 321–326 (1 May 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrc2615

Unleashing the power of inhibitors of oncogenic kinases through BH3 mimetics

Mark S. Cragg , Claire Harris , Andreas Strasser & Clare L. Scott

Therapeutic targeting of tumours on the basis of molecular analysis is a new paradigm for cancer treatment but has yet to fulfil expectations. For many solid tumours, targeted therapeutics, such as inhibitors of oncogenic kinase pathways, elicit predominantly disease-stabilizing, cytostatic responses, rather than tumour regression. Combining oncogenic kinase inhibitors with direct activators of the apoptosis machinery, such as the BH3 mimetic ABT-737, may unlock potent anti-tumour potential to produce durable clinical responses with less collateral damage.