Chalcones derivatives acting as cell cycle blockers: potential anti cancer drugs?

Chalcones (1,3-diphenylpropen-1-ones) are naturally occurring compounds belonging to the flavonoid family and are largely investigated in various therapeutic area and especially as antitumor drugs. In the latter field, the literature survey indicates that effect on the cell cycle is one of the most important targets domains of chalcones. In this review, we will shed light on: a) the structural criteria responsible for the cell cycle perturbations, b) the activity of chalcones on cell cycle molecular players or regulators c) the correlation between the chalcone-structure and proteins involved directly or not in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis by enhancement of proapoptotic molecules expression. We will discuss some perspectives related on how can we deal with chemical modification of chalcones to come up with more potent compounds to provide new ways for cancer treatment.