Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents) - Volume 19, Issue 15, 2019

Background: Schiff bases and their metal complexes are emerging as key classes of medicinal compounds, possessing an enormous potential of biological activities like anticancer, anticonvulsant and antioxidant etc. The aim of this review is to examine the anticancer activity of different classes of Schiff bases and their metal complexes. Methods: Anticancer activity of the already synthesized as well as the novel Schiff bas Read More

Background: Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are the subpopulation of cancer cells which are directly involved in drug resistance, metastases to distant organ and cancer recurrence. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted through various electronic databases including, Pubmed, Scopus, Google scholar using the keywords "cancer stem cells" and "natural compounds" in the present study. Articles published betwee Read More

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a photoactivation or photosensitization process, wherein the photosensitizer (PS) is activated under appropriate wavelengths. Conventional antitumor therapy for cervical cancer includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these techniques are accompanied by some evident shortcomings. PDT is considered an emerging minimally invasive treatment for cervical cancer. In re Read More

Background: Despite advances for cancer treatment, it still remains a major worldwide public health problem. Compounds derived from natural sources are important alternatives to combat this mortal disease. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid with a wide variety of pharmacological properties, including antiproliferative activity. Previously, we have found that fatty acids also show antiproliferative activity against cance Read More

Introduction: Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL or Apo2L) is a member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) superfamily, which stimulates apoptosis in a wide range of cancer cells through binding to Death Receptors 4 and 5 (DR4/5). Nevertheless, TRAIL has noticeable anti-cancer abilities; some cancer cells acquire resistance to TRAIL, and consequently, its potential for inducing apoptosis in target cells i Read More

Background: As a member of serine/threonine-protein kinase, Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) plays crucial roles during mitosis and also contributes to DNA damage response and repair. PLK1 is aberrantly expressed in many types of tumor cells and increased levels of PLK1 are closely related to tumorigenesis and poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, PLK1 is accepted as one of the potential targets for the discovery of novel antican Read More

Background: Cancer remains a major health concern throughout history and is responsible for huge numbers of deaths globally. The sensitivity of cancer cells to anticancer drugs is a crucial factor for developing effective treatments. Methods: Pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepines coupled with benzothiazole and fluorinated aryl thiourea scaffolds have been synthesized, and their potential as cytotoxic agents was investigated against different Read More

Background: Liver cancer is a life threating disease as it is the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of death worldwide with no safe, efficient, and economic drug available for treatment. Methods: This study intended to investigate glycyrrhizin and its derivatives for possible use as a cytotoxic agent and as a drug for liver cancer treatment. Thus, after treatment of liver cancer cell line HepG-2 with 50 Read More

Background: Drug resistance is a major cause of cancer treatment failure. Most cancer therapies involve multiple agents, to overcome it. Compounds that exhibit strong anti-tumor effect without damaging normal cells are more and more in the focus of research. Chemotherapeutic drugs, combining different moieties and functional groups in one molecule, can modulate different regulatory pathways in the cell and t Read More

Background: Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (ATC) is one of the most lethal and aggressive human malignancies. Studies have shown that Cancer Stem-Cell (CSC) phenotype is mainly responsible for ATC aggressiveness. Cytostatic compounds are mostly ineffective because of multidrug resistance mechanisms driven by the CSC phenotype. Taxanes have limited efficacy. Recently, CSC inhibition using plant-derived, less toxic compou Read More

Background: Vitamin C (Vit C) is an important physiological antioxidant with growing applications in cancer. Somatostatin (SST) is a natural peptide with growth inhibitory effect in several mammary cancer models. Objective: The combined effects of SST and Vit C supplementation have never been studied in breast cancer cells so far. Methods: We used MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells incubated with SST for 24h, in t Read More