Nanoparticles Targeting and Remodeling Tumor Microenvironment for Cancer Theranostics.

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is featured with aberrant vasculatures, specific physiological parameters, viscoelastic extracellular matrix and stromal cells, which are important factors in tumor initiation, development and metastasis. The components in TME form physical/biological barriers for drug delivery and therapy, and also contribute to resistance to treatment and immunosuppression. The advances in nanobiotechnology have offered a myriad of nanoparticles for targeting and treating tumors through the passive or active targeting strategies. However, the barriers in TME always limit the drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy of nanoparticles. To cope with this, recent strategies have employed nanoparticles to target and remodel tumor microenvironment, while a variety of nanoparticles have been developed with different functions for this score. In this review, we have described the typical features of tumor microenvironment along with their roles in tumor progression, and then focused on recent progresses in development and application of nanoparticles to target and remodel TME for enhanced cancer therapy.