Application of metalloporphyrin sensitizers for the treatment or diagnosis of tumors

Abstract

At present, metalloporphyrin compounds demonstrate three main uses as anticancer sensitizers: (1) photosensitizers, (2) photothermal conversion agents, and (3) ultrasound sensitizers. Developing efficient sensitizers for cancer with excellent controllability and biocompatibility is an important goal of oncology medicine. Because of the different structural diversity of anticancer sensitizers, such sensitizers are used for treating cancers by employing a variety of tumor treatment methods such as mature photodynamic therapy, commonly used clinically photothermal therapy and promising sonodynamic therapy. Among the many sensitizers, metalloporphyrin-complex sensitizers attract wide attention due to their excellent performance in tumor treatment and diagnosis. This review briefly describes some metalloporphyrin anticancer drugs and diagnostic agents related to photodynamic, photothermal and sonodynamic therapy, and discusses the roles of metal atoms in these drugs.