Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials-Based Recent Approaches in Upgraded Targeting and Management of Cancer: A Review

Abstract

Along with the extensive improvement in tumor biology research and different therapeutic developments, cancer remains a dominant and deadly disease. Tumor heterogeneity, systemic toxicities, and drug resistance are major hurdles in cancer therapy. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, phototherapy, and surgical therapy are some prominent areas of cancer treatment. During chemotherapy for cancer, chemotherapeutic agents are distributed all over the body and also damage normal cells. With advancements in nanotechnology, nanoparticles utilized in all major areas of cancer therapy offer the probability to advance drug solubility, and stability, extend drug half-lives in plasma, reduce off-target effects, and quintessence drugs at a target site. The present review compiles the use of different types of nanoparticles in frequently and recently applied therapeutics of cancer therapy. A recent area of cancer treatment includes cancer stem cell therapy, DNA/RNA-based immunomodulation therapy, alteration of the microenvironment, and cell membrane-mediated biomimetic approach. Biocompatibility and bioaccumulation of nanoparticles is the major impediment in nano-based therapy. More research is required to develop the next generation of nanotherapeutics with the incorporation of new molecular entities, such as kinase inhibitors, siRNA, mRNA, and gene editing. We assume that nanotherapeutics will dramatically improve patient survival, move the model of cancer treatment, and develop certainty in the foreseeable future.