Pyrrole-containing hybrids as potential anticancer agents: An insight into current developments and structure-activity relationships

Cancer poses a significant threat to human health. Therefore, it is urgent to develop potent anti-cancer drugs with excellent inhibitory activity and no toxic side effects. Pyrrole and its derivatives are privileged heterocyclic compounds with significant diverse pharmacological effects. These compounds can target various aspects of cancer cells and have been applied in clinical settings or are undergoing clinical trials. As a result, pyrrole has emerged as a promising drug scaffold and has been further probed to get novel entities for the treatment of cancer. This article reviews recent research progress on anti-cancer drugs containing pyrrole. It focuses on the mechanism of action, biological activity, and structure-activity relationships of pyrrole derivatives, aiming to assist in designing and synthesizing innovative pyrrole-based anti-cancer compounds.