Polyoxometalates Impact as Anticancer Agents

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are oxoanions of transition metal ions, such as V, Mo, W, Nb, and Pd, forming a variety of structures with a wide range of applications. Herein, we analyzed recent studies on the effects of polyoxometalates as anticancer agents, particularly their effects on the cell cycle. To this end, a literature search was carried out between March and June 2022, using the keywords “polyoxometalates” and “cell cycle”. The effects of POMs on selected cell lines can be diverse, such as their effects in the cell cycle, protein expression, mitochondrial effects, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, cell death and cell viability. The present study focused on cell viability and cell cycle arrest. Cell viability was analyzed by dividing the POMs into sections according to the constituent compound, namely polyoxovanadates (POVs), polyoxomolybdates (POMos), polyoxopaladates (POPds) and polyoxotungstates (POTs). When comparing and sorting the IC(50) values in ascending order, we obtained first POVs, then POTs, POPds and, finally, POMos. When comparing clinically approved drugs and POMs, better results of POMs in relation to drugs were observed in many cases, since the dose required to have an inhibitory concentration of 50% is 2 to 200 times less, depending on the POMs, highlighting that these compounds could become in the future an alternative to existing drugs in cancer therapy.