Marine-Derived Anticancer Agents: Clinical Benefits, Innovative Mechanisms, and New Targets
Renato B. Pereira,
Nikolai M. Evdokimov,
Florence Lefranc,
Patrícia Valentão,
Alexander Kornienko,
David M. Pereira,
Paula B. Andrade,
Nelson G. M. Gomes
Affiliations
Renato B. Pereira
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n° 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Nikolai M. Evdokimov
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Florence Lefranc
Department of Neurosurgery, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808 Route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
Patrícia Valentão
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n° 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Alexander Kornienko
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
David M. Pereira
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n° 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Paula B. Andrade
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n° 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Nelson G. M. Gomes
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n° 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
The role of the marine environment in the development of anticancer drugs has been widely reviewed, particularly in recent years. However, the innovation in terms of clinical benefits has not been duly emphasized, although there are important breakthroughs associated with the use of marine-derived anticancer agents that have altered the current paradigm in chemotherapy. In addition, the discovery and development of marine drugs has been extremely rewarding with significant scientific gains, such as the discovery of new anticancer mechanisms of action as well as novel molecular targets. Approximately 50 years since the approval of cytarabine, the marine-derived anticancer pharmaceutical pipeline includes four approved drugs and eighteen agents in clinical trials, six of which are in late development. Thus, the dynamic pharmaceutical pipeline consisting of approved and developmental marine-derived anticancer agents offers new hopes and new tools in the treatment of patients afflicted with previously intractable types of cancer.
