Synthesis and biological evaluation, network pharmacology, and molecular docking of 2-benzylidene-1-indanone derivatives as antitumor agents

In this study, 45 2-benzylidene-1-indolone compounds were synthesized and their antitumor activities were evaluated. Experimental results demonstrated that these compounds exhibited varying degrees of inhibition against cancer cell proliferation. Notably, compound 20 showed significant activity against HGC-27 gastric cancer cells, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) as low as 2.57 µM. Finally, the antitumor mechanism of compound 20 was investigated through network pharmacology and molecular docking, and 12 key genes and 21 related tumor signaling pathways were obtained. These findings suggest that compound 20, as a potential lead compound, may provide a new direction for the development of antitumor drugs after structural optimization.