Marine Anticancer Agents: An Overview with a Particular Focus on Their Chemical Classes

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 18; no. 12; p. 619
• Main Authors: Barreca, Marilia, Spanò, Virginia, Montalbano, Alessandra, Cueto, Mercedes, Díaz Marrero, Ana R, Deniz, Irem, Erdoğan, Ayşegül, Lukić Bilela, Lada, Moulin, Corentin, Taffin-de-Givenchy, Elisabeth, Spriano, Filippo, Perale, Giuseppe, Mehiri, Mohamed, Rotter, Ana, P Thomas, Olivier, Barraja, Paola, Gaudêncio, Susana P, Bertoni, Francesco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04-12-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Adaptation; Algae; anticancer; Anticancer properties; Antitumor activity; Antitumor agents; Biodiversity; Biological activity; Cancer; clinical pipeline; Corals; Cytarabine; drug discovery; Environmental conditions; Enzymes; Fludarabine; Fungi; Human diseases; Marine chemistry; marine drugs; Marine environment; Marine invertebrates; marine natural products; Marine organisms; Metabolites; Microorganisms; Mollusks; Monoclonal antibodies; Natural products; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Organisms; Pharmacology; Phosphates; Phytoplankton; Review; Salinity; Shellfish; Targeted cancer therapy; marine natural products; drug discovery; marine drugs; clinical pipeline; anticancer
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md18120619

The marine environment is a rich source of biologically active molecules for the treatment of human diseases, especially cancer. The adaptation to unique environmental conditions led marine organisms to evolve different pathways than their terrestrial counterparts, thus producing unique chemicals with a broad diversity and complexity. So far, more than 36,000 compounds have been isolated from marine micro- and macro-organisms including but not limited to fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, corals, mollusks and tunicates, with hundreds of new marine natural products (MNPs) being discovered every year. Marine-based pharmaceuticals have started to impact modern pharmacology and different anti-cancer drugs derived from marine compounds have been approved for clinical use, such as: cytarabine, vidarabine, nelarabine (prodrug of ara-G), fludarabine phosphate (pro-drug of ara-A), trabectedin, eribulin mesylate, brentuximab vedotin, polatuzumab vedotin, enfortumab vedotin, belantamab mafodotin, plitidepsin, and lurbinectedin. This review focuses on the bioactive molecules derived from the marine environment with anticancer activity, discussing their families, origin, structural features and therapeutic use.