Vanadium compounds have been known to have beneficial therapeutic properties since the turn of the century, but it was not until 1965 when it was discovered that those effects could be extended to treating
cancer. Some
vanadium compounds can combat common markers of
cancer, which include metabolic processes that are important to initiating and developing the phenotypes of
cancer. It is appropriate to consider
vanadium as a treatment option due to the similarities in some of the metabolic pathways utilized by both diabetes and
cancer and therefore is among the few drugs that are effective against more than one disease. The development of
vanadium compounds as
protein phosphatase inhibitors for the treatment of diabetes may be useful for potential applications as an
anticancer agent. Furthermore, the ability of
vanadium to redox cycle is also important for
biological properties and is involved in the pathways of
reactive oxygen species. Early agents including vanadocene and peroxovanadium compounds have been investigated in detail, and the results can be used to gain a better understanding of how some
vanadium compounds are modifying the metabolic pathways potentially developing
cancer. Considering the importance of coordination chemistry to
biological responses, it is likely that proper consideration of compound formulation will improve the efficacy of the
drug. Future development of
vanadium-based drugs should include consideration of
drug formulation at earlier stages of
drug development.