Abstract

SERENDIPITY OF CISPLATIN, AND THE EMERGENCE OF METALLODRUGS IN CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY

Prince Firdous Iqbal, Mushtaq Ahmad Malik and Waseem A. Wani*

ABSTRACT

The name “Cancer” brings about a huge sense of terror. Cancer has been a major challenge to human populations from a long time as it claims millions of lives every year, the world over. Its treatment has always been a top priority for oncologists, biochemists, and medicinal chemists all over the world. It was the serendipitous discovery of anticancer properties of the relatively simple molecule cisplatin that fostered the interest of scientists for the strategic development of metal containing compounds (metallodrugs) as anticancer drugs. In this direction, a large number of structurally diverse metallodrugs (both platinum-based and non-platinum ones) have been successfully synthesized and screened for anticancer potencies over ranges of cancer cell lines. Obviously, some of the metallodrugs have been successful in the treatment of several cancer types, and some others are in clinical trials. The present article gives an overview of historical landmark discovery of cisplatin, and the revolution that followed its discovery. The renaissance of metallodrug-based anticancer strategies has been highlighted with a focus on the main types of metallodrugs with good success rates in in vitro and in vivo biological investigations.

Keywords: Cancer, Anticancer chemotherapy, Metallodrugs, Cisplatin, Cisplatin analogues, Non-platinum metallodrugs.