Frontiers in G-Quadruplex therapeutics in cancer: Selection of small molecules, peptides and aptamers

G-Quadruplex, a unique secondary structure in nucleic acids found throughout human genome, elicited widespread interest in the field of therapeutic research. Being present in key regulatory regions of oncogenes, RNAs and telomere, G-Quadruplex structure regulates transcription, translation, splicing, etc. Changes in its structure and stability leads to differential expression of oncogenes causing cancer. Thus, targeting G-Quadruplex structures with small molecules/other biologics has shown elevated research interest. Covering previous reports, in this review, we try to enlighten the facts on the structural diversity in G-Quadruplex ligands aiming to provide newer insights to design first-in-class drugs for the next-generation cancer treatment.