Search for New Antineoplastic Agents Based on Structural Modifications of Steroidal 5α-Reductase, 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase, and 17α-Hydroxylase/17,20-Lyase Inhibitors

This review explores the optimization of steroidal inhibitors for three key steroidogenic enzymes—5α-reductase, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase—as antineoplastic agents. It presents the structures of 209 new compounds and evaluates their therapeutic potential through laboratory and preclinical data. The findings suggest that structural modifications of these steroidal inhibitors are promising for developing new antineoplastic agents. The review focuses on existing steroidal inhibitors and does not cover non-steroidal ones, drawing from 92 publications across six databases.