The significance of N-methylpicolinamides in the development of anticancer therapeutics: Synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies

Cancer is the second most important cause of death worldwide. There is always a demand for new anticancer drugs and continuously a wide variety of natural and synthetic compounds were developed by the researchers. Nowadays, a large number of drugs in clinical practice were found to have a high incidence of side effect and multidrug conflict. The development of novel less toxic, low cost and very energetic N-methylpicolinamide-bearing hybrids is a hot research topic in the community of medicinal chemistry. Herein we highlight the current advances in the synthesis of picolinamide-containing heterocyclic compounds as potent anticancer agents. In addition, briefly explore their structure-activity relationship studies for the inspiration of the innovation and development of more potent and effective drugs against various death-causing cancer diseases.