The Anticancer and Chemopreventive Activity of Selenocyanate-Containing Compounds

Abstract

The aim of this work is to review systematically the selenocyanate-containing compounds reported so far with potential applications in cancer prevention and in cancer treatment, attempting to focus on the most active selenocyanate derivatives. The chemopreventive and anticancer activity of selenocyanate-containing compounds as p-xylene selenocyanate and benzyl selenocyanate was found long time ago and has been deeply studied, revealing that this functional group can affect to very different cellular and metabolic targets. In the last years, novel active compounds that combine the selenocyanate moiety with different heterocycles, quinones, or steroids have been reported, renewing the interest in this selenium-containing functional group and discovering compounds with promising properties. Generally, these compounds show antiproliferative or cytotoxic activity, although certain ones are potent antioxidant agents. The novel heterocyclic compounds are mostly substituted with a –CH2SeCN moiety but longer aliphatic linkers between the ring core and the –SeCN group can be also found. Isatins, quinazolines, oxadiazoles, pyrimidinones, and tacrines can be highlighted among the heterocycles found in novel active compounds, whereas certain derivatives of diosgenin and cholestane are active steroid-containing selenocyanates. Selenocyanates are a promising class of selenocompounds that generally show interesting properties as chemopreventive or as anticancer agents.