Coumarin scaffolds in breast cancer research: derivatives, hybrids, and therapeutic potential

Breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers worldwide and continues to present major therapeutic challenges due to tumor diversity, drug resistance, and recurrence. These issues highlight the need for new treatments with better selectivity and multitarget effects. Coumarins, a class of naturally occurring benzopyran-2-one derivatives, have attracted significant interest in medicinal chemistry because of their structural flexibility, favorable drug-like properties, and broad range of biological activities. The coumarin scaffold offers several chemically accessible sites for extensive structural modification, facilitating the development of derivatives and hybrid molecules with improved pharmacological profiles. This review covers recent advances in developing coumarin-based derivatives and hybrid compounds as potential agents for breast cancer treatment. Overall, coumarin scaffolds remain promising platforms for designing multitarget anticancer agents and continue to offer valuable opportunities for creating new therapeutic strategies against breast cancer. This diagram presents coumarin as a central chemical structure with two categories of related compounds: derivatives and hybrid molecules. Derivatives are associated with potent anticancer activity, structural diversity, and multiple mechanisms. Hybrid molecules are linked to molecular hybridization, enhanced efficacy, and broad therapeutic potential. Both categories are connected to an effect on breast cancer cells.