Who's who in the field of combretastatin A4 analogues: ?

Since the discovery in 1989 of combretastatin A-4 and its exceptional antitumor activities, many groups of medicinal chemists have studied the structure-activity relationships around this natural molecule. This critical review summarizes the most significant advances made by 12 leading groups of medicinal chemists in this field. We have organized this review by grouping the most relevant and cytotoxic molecules discovered by these teams, whose antitumor activities will be discussed. At the end of this article, we have selected the best modifications of CA-4 and some perspectives are proposed to potentially develop effective and well-tolerated drugs.