Exploring Marine-Inspired Drugs for New Therapies against Resistant and Metastatic Cancers

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2024) | Viewed by 5420

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Interests: protein kinases; biofilm; antitumor agents; antibacterial agents
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 32, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Interests: marine alkaloids; drug discovery; cancer; anticancer drugs; small molecules kinase inhibitors; biofilm inhibitors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Resistant cancer poses a significant challenge in modern oncology, limiting the effectiveness of traditional therapies and reducing patient survival rates. In the quest for novel treatment strategies, the remarkable biodiversity of marine ecosystems offers a vast and largely untapped resource. Marine organisms have developed unique defense mechanisms to survive in extreme conditions, often relying on complex bioactive compounds. These compounds have shown promise in overcoming cancer resistance, making marine-inspired drugs a compelling area of research. Through their diverse chemical structures and mechanisms of action, marine-inspired drugs have demonstrated the ability to target drug-resistant cancer cells and disrupt key signaling pathways involved in treatment resistance. By harnessing the power of the ocean's natural pharmacy, innovative therapies could be developed, overcoming resistance and providing new avenues of hope for patients facing resistant cancers.

As Guest Editors for this Special Issue, entitled “Exploring Marine-Inspired Drugs for New Therapies against Resistant and Metastatic Cancers”, we are pleased to invite all academic and industry researchers working in this field to submit reviews or original articles highlighting the biological activities of known, novel, or marine-derived compounds with potential tumor-suppression effects on highly aggressive and resistant cancer cells.

Dr. Daniela Carbone
Dr. Camilla Pecoraro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • resistant cancer
  • drug discovery
  • marine-derived compounds
  • drug resistance
  • anti-tumor activity
  • targeted therapies
  • therapeutic drugs
  • heterocyclic compounds
  • metastatic cancer

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 4665 KiB  
Review
Natural Products Derived from Marine Sponges with Antitumor Potential against Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review
by Alba Ortigosa-Palomo, Francisco Quiñonero, Raul Ortiz, Francisco Sarabia, Jose Prados and Consolación Melguizo
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(3), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22030101 - 23 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5022
Abstract
Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, has been extensively investigated in the last decade in terms of developing new therapeutic options that increase patient survival. In this context, marine animals are a [...] Read more.
Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, has been extensively investigated in the last decade in terms of developing new therapeutic options that increase patient survival. In this context, marine animals are a source of new, interesting bioactive molecules that have been applied to the treatment of different types of cancer. Many efforts have been made to search for new therapeutic strategies to improve the prognosis of lung cancer patients, including new bioactive compounds and cytotoxic drugs from marine sponges. Their antitumoral effect can be explained by several cellular and molecular mechanisms, such as modulation of the cell cycle or induction of apoptosis. Thus, this systematic review aims to summarize the bioactive compounds derived from marine sponges and the mechanisms by which they show antitumor effects against lung cancer, exploring their limitations and the challenges associated with their discovery. The search process was performed in three databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science), yielding a total of 105 articles identified in the last 10 years, and after a screening process, 33 articles were included in this systematic review. The results showed that these natural sponge-derived compounds are a valuable source of inspiration for the development of new drugs. However, more research in this field is needed for the translation of these novel compounds to the clinic. Full article
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