MDM2 and cancer: ,34 Various studies, including our own, have established that MDM2 possesses both p53-dependent and -independent oncogenic activities32,35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and thus represents a promising target for cancer therapy and other chronic diseases,44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 with many MDM2 inhibitors currently in preclinical and clinical development.28