BH3 mimetics and multi-kinase inhibition in AML.

In this issue of Blood, Rahmani et al show in preclinical studies that the combination of the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib with the BH3 mimetic obatoclax results in enhanced antileukemic effects compared with the effects of each agent alone. This work has important clinical implications because it describes a novel approach to overcome acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell resistance by combining agents that are currently being investigated in trials as single agents.