Abstract

Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with traditional chemotherapy treatments causing significant side effects. Short synthetic peptides have emerged as a potential alternative due to their unique properties, including selectivity, stability and biocompatibility. Recent research has shown that short peptides can act as effective anticancer agents through their ability to inhibit the COX-2 (Cyclooxegenase-2) enzyme, a key enzyme involved in tumor growth and progression. In particular, short peptides have demonstrated promising results in targeting the tumor microenvironment, disrupting angiogenesis, and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. This review summarizes the current literature on short peptides as anticancer agents, including their mechanisms of action and future directions for research and development. The results suggest that short peptides hold significant potential as a new class of anticancer agents and warrant further investigation.

Keywords: Short peptide, COX-2, cancer, MTT assay, cytotoxicity, synthetic peptides.