Recent Advancements in the Development of Anti-Breast Cancer Synthetic Small Molecules

Molecules. 2021 Dec 15;26(24):7611. doi: 10.3390/molecules26247611.

Abstract

Among all cancer types, breast cancer (BC) still stands as one of the most serious diseases responsible for a large number of cancer-associated deaths among women worldwide, and diagnosed cases are increasing year by year worldwide. For a very long time, hormonal therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were used for breast cancer treatment. However, these treatment approaches are becoming progressively futile because of multidrug resistance and serious side effects. Consequently, there is a pressing demand to develop more efficient and safer agents that can fight breast cancer belligerence and inhibit cancer cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Currently, there is an avalanche of newly designed and synthesized molecular entities targeting multiple types of breast cancer. This review highlights several important synthesized compounds with promising anti-BC activity that are categorized according to their chemical structures.

Keywords: breast cancer therapy; chemical scaffold; human malignancies; mechanistic insights; organic synthesis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents