On How Could Light and Nanostructures Lead the Way to a Safer Anticancer Therapy

Abstract

Destroying biological pathogens is easy. The point is how to destroy them while sparing the host. This is especially obvious when dealing with cancer. History shows that anticancer therapies have always been aggressive to patients. For instance, in the 19th century, arsenides and arsenic salts were commonly prescribed as anticancer drugs [1]. The use of arsenic derivatives for treating cancer was an art – hard to master, properly applied only by a few. Although arsenic was considered to be effective against cancer, it was difficult to deal with its narrow therapeutic window. In the early 20th century, improved therapies supplanted arsenic derivatives in anticancer treatment – actually, the use of arsenic compounds for therapeutic purposes is far from being left aside as it continues to be investigated and encouraged [1]. But important side effects persist. The problem is that anticancer drugs act without the precious help given by phylogenetic differences between the host and the biological pathogen. They should destroy abnormal eukaryotic cells, derived from host’s own cells. This is the main reason behind the harmful, sometimes lethal, side effects of conventional anticancer therapies. Over the last few decades, despite the efforts in developing and improving anticancer therapies, no major progress has been achieved.