Is cyclin-dependent kinase 9 a novel specific molecular target of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma?

Adult T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma (ATL/ATL) is an aggressive form of CD4+ T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. The primary cause of this fatal disease is infection by human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) (1-3). ATL was first identified in Japan by Takatsuki et al. in 1977 (4). The Japanese Lymphoma Study Group proposed four subtypes of ATL such as acute, lymphoma, chronic, and smoldering in 1991 (5). Up to now, though there are several new therapies have been developed, no curative regimen is accepted for the treatment of ATL.