The Evolving Role of CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Early and Recurrent Breast Cancer: Clinical and Translational Findings and Work in Progress
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 16
Special Issue Editor
Interests: breast cancer; de-escalation strategies; intraoperative radiotherapy; neoadjuvant therapy; immune therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors have fundamentally transformed the therapeutic landscape for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, establishing a new standard of care in both advanced and high-risk early-stage disease when combined with endocrine therapy. The clinical success of agents such as palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib is underpinned by their ability to arrest cell cycle progression at the G1/S checkpoint, resulting in significant improvements in progression-free and overall survival for select patient populations. Beyond their cytostatic effects, recent research has revealed that CDK4/6 inhibition exerts broader biological impacts—including modulation of tumor metabolism—induction of cellular senescence, and enhancement of antitumor immunity, thereby opening new avenues for combination strategies and expanding their potential utility across diverse malignancies.
Despite these advances, several challenges remain, including the emergence of acquired resistance, identification of predictive biomarkers, and the optimization of treatment sequencing and combination regimens. Ongoing translational and clinical research is focused on elucidating mechanisms of resistance, refining patient selection, and exploring novel therapeutic combinations to maximize clinical benefit. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of clinical and translational CDK4/6 inhibitor research in both the early and metastatic settings, highlight recent mechanistic insights, and discuss future directions for clinical application and drug development in oncology.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Christian Kolberg
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- CDK4/6 inhibitors
- breast cancer
- treatment resistance
- combination therapy
- biomarkers
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