Brakes off cyclin drives memory

Cancer Cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) are enzymes that stimulate cell proliferation. CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) drugs block the signals that instruct tumor cells to divide and have been approved to treat a subset of breast cancers. Heckler et al. and Lelliott et al. found that CDK4/6i can also promote the formation of immune memory to help fight tumors. Short-term treatment of cancer cells with CDK4/6i pushed activated CD8+ T lymphocytes along a memory cell trajectory, which promoted long-term tumor immunity in mice. These findings may guide the design of human clinical trials using CDK4/6i as a cancer pretreatment to kick-start the immune response before the addition of immunotherapeutic agents. Cancer Discov. 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1540, 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1554 (2021).