The development and potential clinical utility of biomarkers for HDAC inhibitors.

Drug discovery has always been a complex process including many phases from target validation to clinical development. Data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has estimated that the elimination rate for investigational new drugs entering clinical trials is up to 80%. In recent years, many kinds of biomarkers have been used to predict response in cancer treatment and for evaluation of new drugs. By increasing the understanding of histone deactylase (HDAC) inhibitors cellular mechanism of action, we have elucidated how HDAC inhibitors exert their effect by the use of proper biomarkers. In this paper, we mainly focus on the development and potential clinical utility of HDAC inhibitor biomarkers.