Pharmacological inhibition of Bmi1 by PTC-209 impaired tumor growth in head neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background Bmi1 (B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog) contributes to human tumorigenesis via epigenetic transcriptional silencing and represents a novel therapeutic target with great potentials. Here we sought to determine the therapeutic efficiency of PTC-209, a potent and selective Bmi1 inhibitor, in head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells and a HNSCC xenograft model.