Advances in Research on Platinum-based Anticancer Complexes

Platinum complexes are widely used in clinical practice because of their extensive anticancer activities and remarkable therapeutic effects. Cisplatin was first put into clinical application in 1978, and later carboplatin and oxaliplatin were successively approved by the FDA. Since then, leplatin, nidaplatin and epplatin have been marketed in China, Japan and Korea, respectively. However, the toxic and side effects and drug resistance of platinum drugs have greatly limited their application and further development. In order to improve the therapeutic efficacy of platinum drugs and overcome their defects, a large number of novel platinum complexes have been designed and synthesized, and the efficacy of some platinum complexes has been evaluated at different stages. In addition to the Pt(II) analogues of cisplatin, Pt(IV) complexes have also been extensively investigated as prodrugs in recent years. In this review, the progress of platinum anti-tumor complexes in recent years is summarized from Pt(II) and Pt(IV) complexes. The design of ligands, the mechanisms, the antitumor effects, and clinical prospects are also discussed. It is expected that this work could be useful for the development and clinical application of platinum-based anticancer drugs in the future.