Structure activity relationship for anticancer activities of spirooxindole derivatives: A comprehensive review

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, necessitating the continuous search for novel therapeutic agents. Spirooxindole derivatives have recently emerged as a class of compounds with significant potential for cancer treatment owing to their diverse pharmacological activities and unique structural features. The structural diversity of spirooxindole derivatives enables a wide range of modifications, facilitating optimization of their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Moreover, their ability to interact with multiple molecular targets involved in cancer progression, including kinases, receptors, and enzymes, makes them attractive candidates for multi-targeted therapy. In preclinical studies, numerous spirooxindole derivatives have demonstrated promising antiproliferative activity against various cancer cell lines, including breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancers. Mechanistic investigations have revealed their ability to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and inhibit angiogenesis and metastasis, underscoring their potential as effective anticancer agents. However, challenges such as off-target effects, drug resistance, and limited bioavailability need to be addressed to maximize the therapeutic potential of these compounds. Continued research efforts to elucidate their molecular mechanisms, optimize their pharmacological properties, and conduct rigorous clinical evaluations are warranted to harness their full therapeutic benefits for cancer treatment. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in developing spirooxindole derivatives as anticancer agents with structure-activity relationships.