Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CYCC; NASDAQ: CYCCP) has announced the publication of independent research in the peer-reviewed medical journal Gut demonstrating that plogosertib, a PLK1 inhibitor, is active in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC)—a rare and hard-to-treat subtype of liver cancer.
In the article titled DNAJ-PKAc fusion heightens PLK1 inhibitor sensitivity in fibrolamellar carcinoma, the authors report that the DNAJ-PKAc fusion oncoprotein, a known driver of FLC progression, increases the cancer’s sensitivity to treatment with plogosertib—a novel, small molecule, selective, and potent PLK1 inhibitor.
FLC currently has no approved treatments, is resistant to conventional chemotherapy, and primarily affects adolescents and young adults.
According to Cyclacel, researchers found that pharmacologic inhibition of PLK1 with agents such as plogosertib significantly suppressed FLC tumor growth while sparing normal liver cells. This was observed in patient-derived in vitro and in vivo xenograft models, as well as an orthotopic FLC model. The findings support further preclinical and clinical evaluation of plogosertib as a potential treatment for FLC.
