Targeting mitochondria for cancer therapy.

Mitochondria play a central role for cell survival, metabolism and proliferation, as they are the power houses of the cell, the master regulators of programmed cell death and an important player in cellular metabolism. Mitochondria adapt their functions by changes in their molecular composition to fulfill the specific needs of rapidly growing tumor cells. Conceptually, this is the rationale to develop mitochondria targeting anti-cancer agents (so called mitocans) with high tumor specificity. This review describes the most relevant mitochondrial functions and molecular adaptations that are related to the mode of action of current mitocans and outlines their state of development