PLK1 and cancer: Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), highly expressed in various primary tumor tissues including glioblastomas, thyroid cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and acute myeloid leukemia, has become a promising target for cancer therapy due to its role in promoting tumorigenesis (De Martino et al., 2018; Hagege et al., 2021; Lerner et al., 2015; Xia et al., 2023).