Organotin Complexes—Candidates for Antitumor Agents: Toxicity vs. Pharmaceutical Activity

Chemotherapy is one of the promising areas for the treatment of cancer. Platinum-based drugs are widely used in clinical practice. However, due to their high cost and a number of limitations related to their toxicity and resistance to a number of tumors, other effective drugs based on metals, in particular organotin compounds and their complexes with various ligands, are under study. The review provides data on the toxicity of Sn(IV) compounds, their effect on the human body and also analyzes the pharmacotherapeutic potential at various levels both in vitro and in vivo in animals of chemically modified organotin candidates for therapeutic agents over the past 10 years. Special attention is paid to the study of the antiproliferative activity of organotins with protective, antioxidant, and steroid fragments. Antitumor and antimetastatic activity has been detected for a number of Sn(IV) complexes in experiments on a number of tumor models in vivo. The analysis of the obtained results sets the vector of development in conducting preclinical studies of such compounds from the selection of candidates, the search for animal models with tumor processes, methods of introduction into the body, etc. The proposed approach can be used to achieve a rational activity to toxicity ratio and reduce side effects during the course use of organotin complexes as chemotherapeutic agents.