Diarylamides in anticancer drug discovery: A review of pre-clinical and clinical investigations

• Published in: European journal of medicinal chemistry 2020-02, Vol.188, p.112029-112029, Article 112029
• Main Authors: Abduelkarem, Abduelmula R., Anbar, Hanan S., Zaraei, Seyed-Omar, Alfar, Aya A., Al-Zoubi, Omayma S., Abdelkarem, Eveen G., El-Gamal, Mohammed I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anticancer; Dasatinib; Diarylamide; Imatinib; Kinase inhibitor; Nilotinib
• ISSN: 0223-5234; 1768-3254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.112029

Several diarylamide compounds have been highlighted as potential anticancer agents. Among them, imatinib, dasatinib, and nilotinib have been marketed for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). CML is a cancer type that originates in specific cells in bone marrow and is considered as life-threating disease. Imatinib is the first generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) to be approved for treatment of CML. Second generation drugs, dasatinib and nilotinib, were introduced for patients that are resistant or intolerant to imatinib therapy. Second generation drugs induce faster responses with fewer side effects when compared to imatinib. In this literature review, we reviewed recent advances of diarylamide anticancer agents, including first and second generation drugs treating CML and their other uses, in addition to other compounds that are still in preclinical phases. This review focuses on the reports published in the literature from 2010 to 2019. [Display omitted] •The recently reported anticancer diarylamide derivatives have been reviewed.•Most of diarylamide anticancer agents act by kinase inhibition.•Recent studies on imatinib, dasatinib, and nilotinib have been also reviewed.