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Global Translational Medicine

MINI-REVIEW
Advances in nanoparticle-based drug delivery in

cancer treatment

Pourya Sarvari* and Pouya Sarvari
Iran National Elite Foundation (INEF), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

As a pathologically heterogeneous disease, cancer is one of the leading causes of
global morbidity. According to the World Health Organization, approximately one in
six deaths are caused by cancer. Fortunately, many cancers can be cured if diagnosed
at early stages and treated efficiently. Despite the benefits of conventional cancer
treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiation therapy,
they have several drawbacks, including cytotoxicity, inaccurate targeting of tumor
cells, and multi-drug resistance, which underscore the importance of developing
novel and effective strategies to improve diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and patient
survival. Recently, the advancement of nanotechnology has opened new horizons for
cancer treatment thanks to the discovery of nanoparticles (NPs) and the small-sized
molecules that revolutionized the drug delivery methods in cancerous tissues. The
specific characteristics of NPs, such as reduced toxicity, improved permeability, and
accurate targeting of tumor cells, provide a great advantage in cancer treatment and
help to overcome the limitations and challenges of conventional cancer treatment
methods. Besides, the role of NPs in immunotherapy has created a novel concept for
cancer treatment. This review gives a brief overview regarding the importance of NPs
and their targeting mechanism, as well as the challenges and limitations associated
with their use in cancer treatment.
*Corresponding author:
Pourya Sarvari
(Pourya.Sarvari@gmail.com) Keywords: Cancer treatment; Drug delivery systems; Nanocarriers; Nanoparticles;
Citation: Sarvari P, Sarvari P, 2023, Nanotechnology; Nanomedicine
Advances in nanoparticle-based
drug delivery in cancer treatment.
Global Transl Med, 2(2): 0394.
https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.0394
Received: April 3, 2023 1. Introduction
Accepted: July 5, 2023 Nanoparticles (NPs) are specified particles, usually <100 nm, with unique biological and
Published Online: July 12, 2023
physical characteristics [1,2] . NPs have enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) trait
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). thanks to their deep tissue penetration characteristics, making them a suitable tool for
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the nano-carrier drug delivery. NPs enhance the half-life of the drugs and improve their
Creative Commons Attribution accumulation inside the tumor tissues [1,3,4] while protecting the healthy cells from drug
License, permitting distribution, toxicity . The application of NPs in the drug delivery system (NDDS) has not only
[5]
and reproduction in any medium,
[6]
[7]
provided the original work is been discussed in chemotherapy and gene therapy but also reports have witnessed
properly cited. the enhancing effect of NPs in immunotherapy by reducing the immunosuppressive
[8]
Publisher’s Note: AccScience microenvironment of tumor tissue . NPs are required to hold certain characteristics
Publishing remains neutral with in shape, size, and surface, to be therapeutically efficient for drug delivery . The size
[9]
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional of NPs is a crucial feature in determining their characteristics and applications, as it
affiliations. influences their extravasation and accumulation . NPs larger than 100 nm are more
[10]
Volume 2 Issue 2 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.0394