Anticancer potential of fused heterocycles: structural insights and mechanistic advances

β-lactam derivatives, carbazoles, isatin derivatives, pyrrolo-benzodiazepines (PBDs), and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines have demonstrated potential as anticancer agents among organic compounds. They exhibit substantial anticancer efficacy across several cancer cell lines, such as HL-60, THP-1, U-937, HeLa, PANC1, MDA-MB-231, and A549 cell lines. These compounds display a significant anticancer profile via diverse biological pathways such as DNA interaction, kinase inhibition, microtubule disruption, and enzyme inhibition. Their low IC50 values across various cell lines suggest their viability as strong candidates for targeted and multi-mechanistic cancer therapy, warranting further in vivo and clinical exploration. This review thoroughly summarized the anticancer efficacy of <i>β</i>-lactam derivatives, carbazoles, isatins, PBDs, and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives.