Platinum compounds: a hope for future cancer chemotherapy.

The discovery of cis-platin and its second and third generation analogues created a hope in cancer chemotherapy. Cis-platin and its second generation analogue carboplatin have been used for the treatment of some cancers from a long time. The third generation analogues have superior anti-cancer profiles for curing a few cancers. Unfortunately, certain side effects such as renal impairment, neurotoxicity and ototoxicity etc. are associated with these drugs. But, combination therapy makes these analogues more effective with fewer side effects. In addition, the results of some ongoing clinical trials will make the safety profile clear in near future. The present article describes the current status of cis-platin and its analogues in cancer chemotherapy. In addition, special emphasis has been made on cis-platin discovery, development of second (carboplatin, oxaliplatin, nedaplatin) and third (lobaplatin, heptalatin) generation analogues, comparison of their chemotherapies, mechanism of action, therapeutic status, recent developments and chronology. Moreover, attempts have been made to describe the future perspectives of these drugs in the cancer treatment.