Harnessing the Therapeutic Potential of Antimicrobial Peptides for Cancers: State of the Art

Despite significant breakthroughs in cancer treatment, cancer remains a serious global health concern that takes thousands of lives each year. Still, drug resistance and adverse effects are the main problems in conventional cancer therapeutic approaches. Thus, the discovery of new anti-cancer agents with distinct mechanisms of action is a critical requirement that offers significant ob-stacles. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which can be found in various forms of life, are recognized as defensive weapons against infections of microbial pathogens. Surprisingly, they are also capable of killing a variety of cancer cells. These powerful peptides can cause cell death in the gastrointesti-nal, urinary tract, and reproductive cancer cell lines. To emphasize the anti-cancer properties of AMPs, we summarize the research that examined their impact on cancer cell lines in this review.