Cyclometalated complexes: promising metallodrugs in the battle against cancer

Metal-based compounds are excellent alternative drugs for oncological treatment and research. The successful use of cisplatin and its derivatives clearly exemplifies the important role of such compounds in cancer therapy. However, the low selectivity, side effects, and resistance associated with this drug have led to the search for new strategies to overcome these limitations. For this reason, organometallic compounds are gaining significant attention as potential antitumor agents. Compared to platinum-based drugs, these compounds often exhibit greater stability, better lipophilicity, higher selectivity, and reduced resistance in cancer cells. This review aims to illustrate the antitumor properties of cyclometalated compounds containing metals from groups 8, 9, and 10. It also highlights various biochemical studies that attempted to explain how these compounds can enter cells, their different molecular targets, and the types of cell death that they can trigger.