Marine life as a source for breast cancer treatment: A comprehensive review

Breast cancer, one of the most significant tumors among all cancer cells, still has deficiencies for effective treatment. Moreover, substitute treatments employing natural products as bioactive metabolites has been seri-ously considered. The source of bioactive metabolites are not only the most numerous but also represent the richest source. A unique source is from the oceans or marine species which demonstrated intriguing chemical and biological diversity which represents an astonishing reserve for discovering novel anticancer drugs. Notably, marine sponges produce the largest amount of diverse bioactive peptides, alkaloids, terpenoids, polyketides along with many secondary metabolites whose potential is mostly therapeutic. In this review, our main focus is on the marine derived secondary metabolites which demonstrated cytotoxic effects towards numerous breast cancer cells and have been isolated from the marine sources such as marine sponges, cyanobacteria, fungi, algae, tunicates, actinomycetes, ascidians, and other sources of marine organisms.

Automated summary

Breast cancer, as a significant tumor, lacks effective treatment. Natural products as bioactive metabolites are being considered as substitute treatments. Marine sources, particularly marine sponges, demonstrate diverse bioactive compounds with potential therapeutic effects against breast cancer cells. This review focuses on marine-derived secondary metabolites isolated from various marine organisms that have cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells.