Unveiling the Structural Diversity and Bioactivity of Natural Compounds in Oncology

Natural products continue to play an important role in cancer treatment advancement, leading to the development of various FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs that include paclitaxel, vincristine, etoposide, and camptothecin derivatives like topotecan and irinotecan along with marine-derived compounds involving trabectedin as well as eribulin. The biological origins, chemical variety, and therapeutic significance of natural anticancer molecules are all covered in detail in this chapter. The compounds’ cancer prevention properties are attributed to their modulation of various signaling pathways, such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK/ERK, and NF-κB controlling apoptosis, inflammation, epigenetic alterations, immune activation, as well as angiogenesis suppression. Natural product discovery and optimization have been accelerated by developments in cheminformatics, omics-driven profiling, bioassay-mediated fractionation, automated screening, and artificial intelligence-based drug design. Recent breakthroughs, which include nanocarrier-based medication, synthetic biology strategies, CRISPR-mediated metabolic modification, and chemotherapy along with immunotherapy combo regimens, increase the possibility for clinical translation. Notwithstanding these developments, problems still exist, such as inconsistent extraction yields, intricate structure, low bioavailability, pharmacokinetic instabilities, toxicity issues, and strict regulatory criteria that impede clinical approval. Important obstacles still include standardized procedures, sustainable sourcing, increased production, and strong clinical validation. The chapter finishes by outlining future prospects, such as personalized medicine implementation, AI-guided mechanism targeting, and investigating overlooked biological systems to find forthcoming natural anticancer potential drugs.