Abstract
The advent of cancer therapeutics brought a paradigm shift from conventional therapy to precision medicine. The new therapeutic modalities accomplished through the properties of nanomaterials have extended their scope in cancer therapy beyond conventional drug delivery. Nanoparticles can be channeled in cancer therapy to encapsulate active pharmaceutical ingredients and deliver them to the tumor site in a more efficient manner. This review enumerates various types of nanoparticles that have entered clinical trials for cancer treatment. The obstacles in the journey of nanodrug from clinic to market are reviewed. Furthermore, the latest developments in using nanoparticles in cancer therapy are also highlighted.
Highlights
A fleeting look into the NP-based formulations currently on the market and in clinical trials will reveal that there are not many nano-formulations that have got the approval to hit the market as cancer therapeutics [83]. 16 nano-based cancer drugs are approved by FDA whereas close to 75 nanoformulations are in clinical trials [84]
The development of drug mimetics where a drug-like molecule can thwart the cancer-inducing effects of mutated regulator proteins [153,154], targeted radionuclide therapy (TRNT) where the radionuclides can potentially destroy tumor cells even if they do not possess specific tumor-associated antigen or receptor or biomarkers [155,156], bacterial cancer therapy where magnetically responsive bacteria are directed to tumor sites where they secrete toxins and compete for nutrients with the tumor cells destroying the tumor cells by modulating immune responses [157], multi-ion radiotherapy where a pure beam of heavy ions is used for radiotherapy [158], etc. are some of the other recent developments being explored for potential therapeutic uses in cancer cure
Several unconventional methods lead to the incorporation of nanoparticle-based drugs in the treatment and care of patients
Summary
The nanoparticles are capable of delivering the normally insoluble drugs to local and distant tumor sites in a better way, reducing the systemic side effects that are generally associated with conventional drug therapies. These nanodrugs are invariably biocompatible, non-immunogenic, non-toxic, and biodegradable, which in turn reduces the risk of unpredicted loss of function or adverse effects encountered in the traditional therapy [2]. A more realistic approach to cancer therapy was achieved when the flexibility of nanoparticles in terms of shape, charge, stability and selective binding capacity, inspired the designing of new drugs for therapeutic purposes.
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