Furan and benzofuran derivatives as privileged scaffolds as anticancer agents: SAR and docking studies (2010 to till date)

Abstract

Furan and benzofuran scaffolds are privileged and well-studied heterocyclic rings for designing and developing new potential anticancer compounds. Previous literature showed their role in interactions with numerous receptors such as tubulin polymerization, Tumor-associated NADH oxidase, EGFR-tyrosine kinase, NF-κB, VEGFR, Topoisomerase I & II, 20s Proteosome, HDAC histone deacetylase, Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), Src kinase, HIF inhibitors, MEK, Sirtuin-1, P-glycoprotein, B-Raf, PI3K, Mtor and GSK multitargeted inhibitors along with their cytotoxicity profile against a panel of cancer cell lines. The search for novel anticancer agents has driven extensive research into the development of structurally diverse compounds. The purpose of this review is to look at the structural aspects of furan and benzofuran, as well as their SAR against numerous cancer targets and docking studies, as far as their synthetic methodology. The current review compiles significant breakthroughs in furan and benzofuran derivatives as anticancer agents published between 2010 and to present. The insights provided herein serve as a foundation for future research and drug development endeavors in the pursuit of more effective and selective anticancer agents based on these privileged scaffolds.