Abstract
Background: Cancer continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. In 2018, an estimated 18.1 million new incidences were reported and 9.6 million cancer-related deaths occurred. Malignant melanoma is a cancer that originates in melanocytes and occurs as a result of over-exposure to UV radiation, immunosuppression or genetic factors. Although malignant melanoma is a rare cancer, it is considered potentially lethal due to its high ability to metastasize and its inherent ability to resist most forms of treatment. The treatment of cancer is stage-dependant but primarily involves surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. These treatments are highly invasive and very toxic, hence there is a need to develop more non-conventional treatments. Metal-based complexes have been explored for many years in the therapeutic setting. A key anti-cancer treatment is cisplatin, which is a platinum-based complex. Although effective, Cisplatin has many drawbacks including toxicity. This has led researchers to investigate other metal-based modalities including ruthenium-based compounds, due to their effectiveness against metastasis, and potency against a wide range of tumours in clinical trials...
M.Sc. (Biochemistry)