Tailoring to RB: tumour suppressor status and therapeutic response

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Abstract
Although RB was first identified as a tumour suppressor over 20 years ago, the implications of RB loss for tumour biology remain enigmatic. This Perspective discusses how context-specific consequences of RB inactivation might influence the response of a tumour to a range of therapeutic agents. The retinoblastoma tumour suppressor (RB) is a crucial regulator of cell-cycle progression that is invoked in response to a myriad of anti-mitogenic signals. It has been hypothesized that perturbations of the RB pathway confer a synonymous proliferative advantage to tumour cells; however, recent findings demonstrate context-specific outcomes associated with such lesions. Particularly, loss of RB function is associated with differential response to wide-ranging therapeutic agents. Thus, the status of this tumour suppressor may be particularly informative in directing treatment regimens.