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•Marine red algae contain sulphated polysaccharides with antitumor properties.•Low molecular highly sulphated carrageenans are the most active against tumors.•Oligocarrageenans induce G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells.•Carrageenans may be used as adjuvants in the vaccines based on dendritic cells.•Oligocarrageenans weaken the immune suppressing effects of the antitumor drugs.
Marine algae are abundant and inexhaustive sources of the bioactive compounds with the various benefits for human health. Among these substances an attention is given to the sulfated polysaccharides presented as the complexes of polymer macromolecules with excellent biological features including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory anticoagulant, antiviral, and immunomodulatory activities. In addition to the aforementioned properties there is a growing number of research results suggesting the bioactive sulfated polysaccharides such as carrageenan, fucoidan, laminarin, and others exert anticancer and antimetastatic properties. The present review contains the main results of experimental studies of the carrageenan anticancer activity including systemic and intracellular mechanisms of the antiproliferative influence. Relationships between structure, physico-chemical properties of carrageenan and their antitumor effects are described. There are data on the toxicology and pharmacokinetics of carrageenans as well as other aspects of their pharmacotherapeutic and pharmacoprophylactic influence that allow considering them as the potential anticancer agents.