Marine Natural Products with Activities against Prostate Cancer: Recent Discoveries

Sep 24, 2026

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and faces challenges in diagnostics and early treatment due to variability in screening protocols and reliance on serum acid phosphatase and prostate-specific antigen, with diagnosis and grading depending on histopathology. Treatments differ by efficacy, cost, and side-effect severity, while relapse can be aggressive and resistant to standard care. This review compiles marine-derived compounds and extracts as potential new drugs, summarizing mechanisms of action and active concentrations, including candidates in clinical trials and those likely to enter future trials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1. Introduction

Epidemiology and geographic variation

Etiology and screening

Diagnosis and grading

Staging and imaging approaches

Review Marine Natural Products with Activities against Prostate Cancer: Recent Discoveries Eleonora Montuori 1,2, Caroline A. C. Hyde 3, Francesco Crea 3, Jon Golding 3 and Chiara Lauritano 2,3, * Citation: Montuori, E.; Hyde, C.A.C.; Crea, F.; Golding, J.; Lauritano, C. Marine Natural Products with Activities against Prostate Cancer: Recent Discoveries. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 1435. [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)[10.3390/ijms24021435](10.3390/ijms24021435) Academic Editor: Davide Barreca Received: 22 December 2022 Revised: 5 January 2023 Accepted: 7 January 2023 Published: 11 January 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy 2 Department of Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via Acton 55, 80133 Napoli, Italy 3 Cancer Research Group, School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK * Correspondence: chiara.lauritano@szn.it; Tel.: +39-0815833221 Abstract: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with over 52,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Diagnostics and early treatment are potentially hindered by variations in screening protocols, still largely reliant on serum levels of acid phosphatase and prostate-speciﬁc antigen, with tumour diagnosis and grading relying on histopathological examination. Current treatment interventions vary in terms of efﬁcacy, cost and severity of side effects, and relapse can be aggressive and resistant to the current standard of care. For these reasons, the scientiﬁc community is looking for new chemotherapeutic agents. This review reports compounds and extracts derived from marine organisms as a potential source of new drugs against prostate cancer. Whilst there are several marine-derived compounds against other cancers, such as multiple myeloma, leukemia, breast and lung cancer, already available in the market, the presently collated ﬁndings show how the marine environment can be considered to hold potential as a new drug source for prostate cancer, as well. This review presents information on compounds presently in clinical trials, as well as new compounds/extracts that may enter trials in the future. We summarise information regarding mechanisms of action and active concentrations. Keywords: marine organisms; prostate cancer; natural products; mechanisms of action 1. Introduction Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in males [1] . On a global scale, prostate cancer, along with lung and colorectal cancers, account for the majority of all cancers diagnosed in men in 2020 [1] . However, whilst the global age standardised incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 people equal 30.7 and 7.7, respectively, there is a great deal of variation in these rates on a regional level, with the majority of Asian regions featuring rates below the global average (Figure 1) [1] . In the US, prostate cancer currently accounts for 14% of newly diagnosed cancer cases, with an estimated 5.7% of cancer deaths in 2022 and a calculated 5-year survival rate for the period 2012–2018 of 96.8%[2] . Within Europe and based on data from 2020, prostate cancer accounts for 22.2% of newly diagnosed cancers in men across all ages, swiftly followed, as above, by lung and colorectal cancer, which collectively account for just over 50% of cancers [3] . In terms of mortality, prostate cancer accounts for 10% of cancer deaths in males across all ages, translating into a

FAQs

Why is there a need for new chemotherapeutic agents for prostate cancer?

Diagnostics and early treatment can be hindered by variability in screening protocols and limitations of existing biomarkers. Current interventions also vary in efficacy and side effects, and relapse may be aggressive and resistant to standard care.

What is the focus of the review?

The review reports compounds and extracts derived from marine organisms as potential sources of new drugs against prostate cancer.

What information does the review summarize about candidate compounds?

It summarizes mechanisms of action and active concentrations, covering compounds presently in clinical trials and new compounds/extracts that may enter trials in the future.

Sep 24, 2026

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