Metal-based drugs and imaging agents are extensively used in the clinic for the treatment and diagnosis of cancers and a wide range of other diseases. The current clinical arsenal of compounds operate via a limited number of mechanisms, whereas new putative compounds explore alternative mechanisms of action, which could potentially bring new chemotherapeutic approaches into the clinic. In this review, metal-based drugs and imaging agents are characterized according to their primary mode of action, and the key properties and features of each class of compounds are defined wherever possible. A better understanding of the roles played by metal compounds at a mechanistic level will help to deliver new metal-based therapies to the clinic by providing an alternative, targeted, and rational approach to supplement non-targeted screening of novel chemical entities for biological activity.

金属基药物和显像剂在临床上广泛用于治疗和诊断癌症以及其他多种疾病。当前化合物的临床武库通过有限的机制起作用，而新的推定化合物探索了替代的作用机制，这可能将新的化学治疗方法带入临床。在这篇综述中，金属基药物和显像剂根据其主要作用方式进行表征，并尽可能定义每种化合物的关键特性和特征。更好地了解金属化合物在机理上的作用，将通过提供替代的，针对性的，