The development of novel organotin anti-tumor drugs: structure and activity.

An overview of the development of anti-tumor organotin derivatives in selected classes of compounds is presented and discussed. High to very high in vitro activity has been found, sometimes equaling that of doxorubicin. Solubility in water is an important issue, dominating the in vivo testing of compounds with promising in vitro properties. The cytotoxicity of the compounds was increased by the presence of a bulky group, an active substituent or one or more polar substituents. Polar substituents may also improve the water solubility. Although organotin derivatives constitute a separate class of compounds, the comparison with cisplatin is inevitable. Among the observed toxicities, neurotoxicity, known from platinum cytostatics, and gastrointestinal toxicity, typical for many oncology drugs, have been detected. Further research to develop novel, useful organotin anti-tumor compounds should be carried out.