Strategic development of AZD1775, a Wee1 kinase inhibitor, for cancer therapy

A majority of the current clinical trials focus on AZD1775 combined with chemotherapy or radiation. Treatment with AZD1775 was tolerated, and antitumor activity has been observed, especially in patients with advanced malignancies harboring G1 checkpoint aberrations and/or DNA damage repair defects. Thus, identification of the molecular subtypes that benefit most from the treatment with AZD1775 alone or in combination may provide a novel strategy for cancer therapy. Research is needed for devising regimens to explore AZD1775 in combination with biologically targeted agents and/or immunotherapy (low dose vs. high dose, intermittent vs. continuous, sequential vs. concurrent, etc.) for identifying potential biomarkers predictive of response and survival.