Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death from cancer in women; second only to lung cancer. Tamoxifen (TAM) is a hydrophobic anticancer agent and a selective estrogen modulator (SERM), approved by the FDA for hormone therapy of BC. Despite having striking efficacy in BC therapy, concerns regarding the dose-dependent carcinogenicity of TAM still persist, restricting its therapeutic applications. Nanotechnology has emerged as one of the most important strategies to solve the issue of TAM toxicity, owing to the ability of nano-enabled-formulations to deliver smaller concentrations of TAM to cancer cells, over a longer period of time. Various TAM-containing-nanosystems have been successfully fabricated to selectively deliver TAM to specific molecular targets found on tumour membranes, reducing unwanted toxic effects. This review begins with an outline of breast cancer, the current treatment options and a history of how TAM has been used as a combatant of BC. A detailed discussion of various nanoformulation strategies used to deliver lower doses of TAM selectively to breast tumours will then follow. Finally, a commentary on future perspectives of TAM being employed as a targeting vector, to guide the delivery of other therapeutic and diagnostic agents selectively to breast tumours will be presented.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC), defined as the uncontrolled growth and rapid proliferation of breast cells, originating from the lobules or ducts, to other regions in the body [1]
In 2016, a total of 1,685,210 new cases of BC were expected in the US and approximately
BC is usually diagnosed using the Triple Approach, which consists of taking an extensive family history; an examination of the breast using imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, mammogram or ultrasound; and a biopsy of the breast tissue for further examination [7,8]
Summary
Breast cancer (BC), defined as the uncontrolled growth and rapid proliferation of breast cells, originating from the lobules or ducts, to other regions in the body [1]. Depending on the tumour types and hormone receptor status, chemotherapy and up to a five-year hormone therapy course may be included in the eventual treatment regime [8,9,10]. Traditional chemotherapy drugs are non-selective; they migrate to almost all parts of the body via the bloodstream [11], interfering with cellular DNA synthesis and destroying both rapidly dividing cancerous and healthy cells. This results in many of the negative side effects associated with chemotherapy strongly affecting long-term quality of life [14].
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