Potential Activity of Non-Platinum Metal-Based Organic Complexes Against Different Cancer Cell Types

Our plain-English summary of Potential Activity of Non-Platinum Metal-Based Organic Complexes Against Different Cancer Cell Types, by D. Tsvetkova, S. Ivanova, D. Obreshkova (Pharmaceuticals, 2026).

The study

• Authors: D. Tsvetkova, S. Ivanova, D. Obreshkova
• Journal: Pharmaceuticals
• Published: 2026;19(6)
• Type of article: Review
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The disadvantages of Cisplatin in anticancer treatment are connected to its poor selectivity, resistance developed of cancers to the drug, and its toxicity against normal organs. An important strategy in anticancer treatment is the synthesis and clinical investigation of non-platinum metal complexes with superior anticancer activity and improved selectivity compared to Cisplatin, combined with lower toxicity, fewer side effects and decreased resistance of cancer to the drug. In the current study, we aim to summarize the potential of important non-platinum metal-based organic compounds as therapeutic agents against different cancer cell types. The review covers the general principles of chemotherapy. A literature analysis shows that organic complexes of the metalloids arsenic (As), boron (B), antimony (Sb), and selenium (Se), and of metals, such as Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Zn, Ce, Ga, Gd, Ir, Os, Pd, Re, Rh, Ru, Ti, and V, have been investigated for potential applications in cancer therapy. This is due to their antiproliferative effects against different cancer types: lung [Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Ru(II), Zn(II)]; breast [Ag(I), Cu(I), Cu(II), Ir(III), Ni(II), Mn(II),. Rh(III), Ru(II)]; gastric [Cu(II), Cu(II)-La(III)]; colon [Ag(I), Cu(II), Ir(III), Pd(II), Rh(III), Ru(II), vanadium(V)]; colorectal [Ag(I), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)]; liver [Ag(I), Co(II), Cu(II), Gd(III), vanadium(V)]; pancreatic [vanadium(IV)]; bladder [Ag(I), Cu(II), Ru(II)]; cervical [Ag(I), Au(I), Cu(I), Cu(II), Fe(II), Ir(III), Rh(III), Ru(II)]; testicular [vanadium(IV)]; prostate [Cu(II), Pd(II), Zn(II)]; leukemia [Ag(I), Co(II), Cu(II), Pd(II), Zn(II)]; sarcoma [Co(II), Ni(II), Zn(II)]; mesothelioma [Cu(II)]; neuroblastoma [Cu(II)]; glioma [Cu(II)]; and melanoma [Au(I), Cu(II), Pd(II), Ru(II)]. The main goals for increasing anticancer metal-based complexes include increasing anticancer activity and selectivity, reducing toxicity, and avoiding cancer cell resistance. Compared to Cisplatin, organocomplexes of copper, ferrocene, and ruthenium are more active. Ruthenium and copper complexes, in particular, are also more selective. Notably, ruthenium and ferrocene derivatives are less toxic than Cisplatin. Lastly, cancers appear to exhibit less resistance against copper, gold, ruthenium, palladium, and ferrocene complexes.

In plain English

This article was a review and created no new data. It summarized published research on organic compounds built around metals other than platinum, such as copper, ruthenium, silver, gold, palladium and vanadium, as possible cancer drugs. It compared them with the platinum drug cisplatin, whose drawbacks the authors described as poor selectivity, toxicity to normal organs, and cancers becoming resistant to it. Most of the work described tested compounds on cancer cells grown in the laboratory, across many cancer types. For mesothelioma, the review cited one study in which a copper(II) complex slowed the growth of the SPC212 mesothelioma cell line. It also listed the gold drug auranofin as acting on mesothelioma cells by raising levels of reactive oxygen species. In one cited cell study, a copper(I) iodide complex had an IC50 value of 18 µM against MCF7 breast cancer cells, compared with 31 µM for cisplatin, which the authors described as better activity. The review did not study asbestos exposure. The authors concluded that copper, gold, iron, ruthenium and palladium complexes, which they described as more active, more selective and less toxic than cisplatin, are a trend in anticancer drug development.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative literature review; no new data
• Who was studied: No people were studied. The review drew on published studies, mostly of human cancer cell lines grown in the laboratory, covering many cancer types including mesothelioma, with a few animal (mouse) experiments.
• Exposure: Experimental metal-based organic compounds (non-platinum metals and metalloids) tested as anticancer agents, compared with cisplatin. No asbestos or other workplace exposure was studied.
• Main results:
  • Cited study: a copper(II) complex with 2,2′-bipyridyl and benzimidazole ligands showed antiproliferative effects against the SPC212 mesothelioma cell line.
  • In mesothelioma cells, auranofin (a gold-containing drug) was listed as acting through increased reactive oxygen species and caspase-independent cell death (from a cited source).
  • Cited cell study: a copper(I) iodide complex had an IC50 of 18 µM, compared with an IC50 of 31 µM for cisplatin, against MCF7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells.
  • The authors' overall summary of the literature: copper, ferrocene and ruthenium compounds were more active than cisplatin.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that developing and clinically testing non-platinum complexes of copper, gold, iron, ruthenium and palladium represents a trend in anticancer drug development. They described these complexes as having stronger anticancer effects, better selectivity, lower toxicity and the ability to avoid resistance compared with cisplatin.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Cisplatin, Chemotherapy, Sarcoma, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Antitumor activity of type III interferon alone or in combination with type I interferon against human non-small cell lung cancer — H. Fujie, T. Tanaka, et al. (2011)
• Platinum-bisphosphonate complexes have proven to be inactive chemotherapeutics targeted for malignant mesothelioma because of inappropriate hydrolysis — N. Margiotta, R. Ostuni, et al. (2011)
• Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan 4 and Its Potential As an Antibody Immunotherapy Target across Different Tumor Types — K.M. Ilieva, A. Cheung, et al. (2017)
• Determination of carbon monoxide in metal carbonyl complexes — A.D. Campbell, P.E. Nelson (1969)
• Influence of metal ions on flavonoid protection against asbestos-induced cell injury — V.A. Kostyuk, A.I. Potapovich, et al. (2001)
• Enhancing Pt(IV) Complexes' Anticancer Activity upon Encapsulation in Stimuli-Responsive Nanocages — M. Sancho-Albero, G. Facchetti, et al. (2023)

Browse more research in Pharmaceuticals, or return to medical research.