Nanotechnology Applications in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease in women worldwide. Despite much technological progress, the current clinical therapy's lack of specificity leads to reduced therapeutic efficiency and serious systemic side effects. In recent years, nanotechnology applications for cancer treatments have attracted a lot of attention because of their advantages in tumor targeting, prolonged blood circulation time, and enhanced accumulation of drugs in tumors. Many liposomal and polymeric-based formulations have been developed to treat breast cancer and showed significantly higher efficiency than free drugs in clinical trials. The versatility of nanoparticles allows for the delivery of multiple active agents with the ability to target various types of cancer. Nanotechnology is a promising field that is expected to introduce new strategies to positively impact the survival rates and quality of life of breast cancer patients. This chapter presents the advantages and disadvantages of nanotechnology applications in breast cancer.