Since the initial discovery of applications of platinum complexes in the clinical treatment of many kinds of cancers, the efficiency of platinum complexes in inhibiting the proliferation of various types of tumors surprised researchers working on the development of anticancer drugs. Meanwhile, despite the potent clinical treatment patients get from platinum complexes, there are also disadvantages including limited solubility in aqueous media and side effects like ototoxicity, myelosuppression, nephrotoxicity, and poor selectivity toward healthy cells. For this reason, efforts have been made to search for novel solutions. Non-platinum complexes (like Fe, Pd, Ru, Cu, Bi, Zn, etc.) were found with potential anticancer activities. We here review the properties of five metal complexes as anticancer agents and make comparisons among them in biological features and cytotoxic activity. Seeking the interrelation between microstructure and mechanism of anticancer, we hope this review provides distinct insights into future study of anticancer agents.

This review provides a clear understanding of the ROS role in tumor treatment and some thoughts for potential cancer prevention.

This review provides an overview of the recent advances in nano-MOFs for drug delivery and tumor therapy and some insight into present challenges and prospects.

To fabricate a highly biocompatible nanoplatform enabling synergistic therapy and real-time imaging, novel Au@Bi2S3 core shell nanobones (NBs) (Au@Bi2S3 NBs) with Au nanorods as cores were synthesized. The combination of Au nanorods with Bi2S3 film made the Au@Bi2S3 NBs exhibit ultrahigh photothermal (PT) conversion efficiency, remarkable photoacoustic (PA) imaging and high computed tomography (CT) performance; these Au@Bi2S3 NBs thus are a promising nanotheranostic agent for PT/PA/CT imaging. Subsequently, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-modified Au@Bi2S3 NBs (Au@Bi2S3-PVP NBs) were successfully loaded with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and a satisfactory pH sensitive release profile was achieved, thus revealing the great potential of Au@Bi2S3-PVP NBs in chemotherapy as a drug carrier to deliver DOX into cancer cells. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrated that the Au@Bi2S3-PVP NBs possessed multiple desired features for cancer therapy, including extremely low toxicity, good biocompatibility, high drug loading ability, precise tumor targeting and effective accumulation. Highly efficient ablation of the human liver cancer cell HepG2 was achieved through Au@Bi2S3-PVP NB-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT). As both a contrast enhancement probe and therapeutic agent, Au@Bi2S3-PVP NBs provided outstanding NIR-triggered multi-modal PT/PA/CT imaging-guided PTT and effectively inhibited the growth of HepG2 liver cancer cells via synergistic chemo/PT therapy.

Rhenium (Re) is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Re has more valence electrons in its outer shell, allowing it to exist in a variety of oxidation states and to form different geometric configurations with many different ligands. The luminescence properties, lipophilicity, and cytotoxicity of complexes can be adjusted by changing the ligand of Re. This article mainly reviews the development of radionuclide ¹⁸⁸Re in radiotherapy and some innovative applications of Re as well as the different therapeutic approaches and imaging techniques used in cancer therapy. In addition, the current application and future challenges and opportunities of Re are also discussed.