自然衍生的化合物是一种极具潜力的生物活性分子资源。海洋是最富有的环境之一，到处都是具有独特特征的有机体，其中藻类因其独特的性质而脱颖而出。海洋大型藻类根据生存环境调整其表型特征，如化学组成。这些生物产生的化合物具有抗氧化、抗炎、免疫调节和抗癌性能，显示出在生物医学领域的巨大潜力。癌症是世界上最致命的疾病之一，缺乏有效的治疗方案突显出开发新的治疗策略的紧迫性。这篇综述概述了三类主要的海洋大型藻类，即红藻（Rhodophyta）、棕藻（Phaeophyceae）和绿藻（Chlorophyta）在胰腺癌、肺癌、乳腺癌、子宫颈癌、结直肠癌、肝癌和胃癌以及白血病和黑色素瘤等癌症的抗癌活性方面的最新进展。此外，还讨论了这一领域的未来展望和限制。

Nature derived compounds represent a valuable source of bioactive molecules with enormous potential. The sea is one of the richest environments, full of skilled organisms, where algae stand out due to their unique characteristics. Marine macroalgae adapt their phenotypic characteristics, such as chemical composition, depending on the environmental conditions where they live. The compounds produced by these organisms show tremendous potential to be used in the biomedical field, due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-cancer properties.Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, and the lack of effective treatments highlights the urgent need for the development of new therapeutic strategies. This review provides an overview of the current advances regarding the anti-cancer activity of the three major groups of marine macroalgae, i.e., red algae (Rhodophyta), brown algae (Phaeophyceae), and green algae (Chlorophyta) on pancreatic, lung, breast, cervical, colorectal, liver, and gastric cancers as well as leukemia and melanoma. In addition, future perspectives, and limitations regarding this field of work are also discussed.