The anti-tumor efficacy of CDK4/6 inhibition is enhanced by the combination with PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors through impairment of glucose metabolism in TNBC cells

Background Cell cycle regulators have gain attention as potential targets for anticancer therapy. Palbociclib is a selective inhibitor of the cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6), which coordinate the G1-S transition. Palbociclib is currently approved for the treatment of hormone receptor positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (BC) in association with letrozole or fulvestrant. In contrast, its efficacy in triple negative BC (TNBC), either alone or in combined therapies, has not been fully investigated to date.