Zheng K, Zhou Y, Ba T, Yang ZW. Prospects and challenges of novel natural marine-derived compounds in melanoma treatment. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(9): 109079 [PMID: 41024836 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i9.109079]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zi-Wei Yang, PhD, Department of Burn Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University (Inner Mongolia Bao Gang Hospital), No. 20 Shaoxian Road, Kundulun District, Baotou 014000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. ziweiyang1991@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Cell Biology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Sep 24, 2025; 16(9): 109079 Published online Sep 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i9.109079
Prospects and challenges of novel natural marine-derived compounds in melanoma treatment
Kai Zheng, Yuan Zhou, Te Ba, Zi-Wei Yang
Kai Zheng, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
Kai Zheng, Te Ba, Zi-Wei Yang, Department of Burn Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University (Inner Mongolia Bao Gang Hospital), Baotou 014000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
Yuan Zhou, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08000, Catalonia, Spain
Co-first authors: Kai Zheng and Yuan Zhou.
Co-corresponding authors: Te Ba and Zi-Wei Yang.
Author contributions: Zheng K and Zhou Y are co-first authors, the two authors made equal contributions to this work, constructed a draft of the manuscript; Ba T and Yang ZW are co-corresponding authors, the two authors made equal contributions to this work, have provided relevant feedback and critical revisions of the manuscript; Zheng K, Zhou Y, Ba T and Yang ZW were involved in the conception and design of the study; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zi-Wei Yang, PhD, Department of Burn Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University (Inner Mongolia Bao Gang Hospital), No. 20 Shaoxian Road, Kundulun District, Baotou 014000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. ziweiyang1991@163.com
Received: April 30, 2025 Revised: May 28, 2025 Accepted: August 20, 2025 Published online: September 24, 2025 Processing time: 146 Days and 16.4 Hours
Abstract
The increasing incidence of melanoma poses significant challenges for conventional treatment approaches, plagued by drug resistance and adverse side effects. Natural marine-derived compounds have gained prominence in melanoma research for their unique bioactivities and diversity. This review delves into the therapeutic potential of these compounds in melanoma treatment, emphasizing their distinctive advantages such as multi-target mechanisms and immune modulation, which distinguish them from traditional therapies. Additionally, we discuss the challenges in translating these agents into clinical applications, including formulation stability, bioavailability, and regulatory hurdles. Recent advancements in preclinical models such as organoids and completed clinical trials further support the exploration of marine-derived compounds in melanoma management. By consolidating current research, this review underscores the potential of these agents to enhance treatment efficacy and foster new therapeutic strategies.
Core Tip: Marine populations represent reservoirs of novel bioactive metabolites with diverse groups of chemical structures. Marine-derived compounds offer promising therapeutic avenues for melanoma by targeting multiple pathways involved in tumor growth, metastasis, and immune regulation. This review delineates the antitumor mechanisms of these therapies and evaluates their efficacy and safety in comparison to traditional treatment modalities. It also highlights emerging strategies for clinical translation, particularly the integration of patient-derived organoid models for preclinical validation. Leveraging these advanced models may bridge the gap between in vitro research and clinical application, facilitating the development of personalized, multimodal melanoma therapies.
