Phototheranostic Nanoagents for Imaging‐Guided Treatment of Oral Cancer†

Abstract

Comprehensive SummaryPhototherapy showed almost a lack of drug resistance and, depending on the therapeutic effects of non‐invasive light‐stimulating photosensors. The side effects of phototherapy were greatly reduced compared to their traditional equivalents. Phototheranostic nanoagents had new properties in drug delivery, biocompatibility, targeting and response, in which traditional phototheranostic drugs can not possess. Recently, a large number of relevant studies have demonstrated that photodynamic therapy (PDT) in combination with other agents and image‐guided multifunctional photothermal therapy (PTT) were well suited for the treatment of oral cancer. Through the design of the nanoagents, researchers have discovered various applications for phototherapy, such as targeted release of co‐packaged drugs, multifunctional imaging for diagnosis and treatment combination, accurate targeting caused by nanocarriers, and synergistic chemotherapy with phototherapy. In this paper, we first reviewed the research related to phototheranostic nanoagents for image‐guided treatment of oral cancer. We tried to introduce the design concept and the treatment effect by three parts of components of phototheranostic nanoagents, categories of phototheranostic nanoagents and application of phototheranostic nanoagents. It also provided a reference for nanomaterial development and clinical applications in research of oral cancer treatment.