Recent advances of Schiff base metal complexes as potential anticancer agents

The successful clinical application of Pt-based drugs in anticancer therapy has stimulated interest in the development of metallodrugs. Numerous metal complexes with significant anticancer activity and fewer side effects have been reported. However, lack of stability is one of the problems restricting the development of metallodrugs. Schiff bases attract a lot of interest because of their excellent properties. They can stabilize various oxidation states of metals and be synthesized easily. Therefore, Schiff bases are known as “privileged ligands” for transition metals. Schiff base metal complexes have a wide range of activities, among which anticancer activity is remarkable and has a large potential for development. In this review, various Schiff base metal complexes with anticancer activities from 2015 to the present are summarized. Their structures, biological activities, targets, and mechanisms of action are discussed in depth. These complexes display a diverse array of structures and have been shown to possess significant anticancer activity. Notably, Schiff base metal complexes demonstrated anticancer activity through various mechanisms, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial pathway, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), activation of immunogenic cell death (ICD), and the induction of apoptosis. This review may provide guidance to the development and mechanistic investigations of future anticancer metallodrugs.