Membrane-active peptides for anticancer therapies

Membrane-active peptides are found in many living organisms and play a critical role in their immune systems by combating various infectious diseases. These host defense peptides employ multiple mechanisms against different microorganisms and possess unique functions, such as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, often working in synergy with other antimicrobial agents. Despite extensive research over the past few decades and the identification of thousands of sequences, only a few have been successfully applied in clinical settings and received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this chapter, we explore all peptide therapeutics that have reached the market, as well as candidates in preclinical and clinical trials, to understand their success and potential applications in cancer therapy. Our findings indicate that at least four membrane-active peptide drugs have progressed to preclinical or clinical phases, dmonstrating promising results for cancer treatment. We summarize our insights in this chapter, highlighting the potential of membrane-active anticancer peptide therapeutics and their applications as targeting ligands in various biomedical fields.