Aurora B: a new prognostic marker and therapeutic target in cancer

Abstract

Aurora B is a serine-threonine kinase belonging to the highly conserved Aurora family of mitotic kinases. Aurora B is a chromosomal passenger protein involved in chromosome segregation, spindle-checkpoint, and cytokinesis. Alteration of each of these steps could induce aneuploidy, one of main features, and driving force of cancer progression. The overexpression of Aurora B has been observed in several tumor types, and has been linked with a poor prognosis of cancer patients. In this review we will focus on the role of Aurora B in cancer development, its role as a prognostic marker, and the clinical outcome of recently developed Aurora(s) inhibitors.