Emerging Trends in Metal‐based Anticancer Agents: Drug Design to Clinical Trials and their Mechanism of Action

• Published in: ChemistrySelect (Weinheim) 2023-12, Vol.8 (48), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Temesgen, Achamo, Ananda Murthy, Hanabe Chowdappa, Enyew, Amare Zereffa, Revathi, Rajappan, Venkatesha Perumal, Ramachandran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anticancer; Drug design; Drug targets; Non-platinum complexes; Platinum complexes
• ISSN: 2365-6549; 2365-6549
• DOI: 10.1002/slct.202302113

Metal‐based therapeutic strategies have been effectively used to treat a number of diseases since the ancient period. However, the issue that emerged at this time was the indistinct barrier between therapeutic and toxic doses. After the discovery of cisplatin, a breakthrough was made for these challenges, and vital signs of progress were shown in the medicinal potential of metal complexes. Consequently, nowadays many metal‐based drugs, especially in cancer treatments, are under investigation. Nevertheless, due to a greater focus on clinical relevance, a few of these drugs are currently approved, and many more are in clinical trials waiting for approval. Therefore, the design, development, and clinical applications of several metal‐based anti‐cancer agents and their efficacy are highlighted in this review. Moreover, this review is intended to present a comprehensive overview of metal‐based anticancer agents, their targets of drug design and development and their mechanisms of action in cancer treatments. The current review discusses platinum and several non‐platinum based anticancer agents that are now being used in clinical settings as well as metal‐based chemical entities that are undergoing clinical trials. This review also additionally investigates the target and the mechanism of action of metal‐based drugs.