Abstract
Despite the tremendous progress made in the field of cancer therapy in recent years, certain solid tumors still cannot be successfully treated. Alongside classical treatments in the form of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, targeted treatments such as immunotherapy that cause fewer side effects emerge as new options in the clinics. However, these alternative treatments may not be useful for treating all types of cancers, especially for killing infiltrative and circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Recent advances pursue the trapping of these cancer cells within a confined area to facilitate their removal for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. A good understanding of the mechanisms behind tumor cell migration may drive the design of traps that mimic natural tumor niches and guide the movement of the cancer cells. To bring this trapping idea into reality, strong efforts are being made to create structured materials that imitate myelinated fibers, blood vessels, or pre-metastatic niches and incorporate chemical cues such as chemoattractants or adhesive proteins. In this review, the different strategies used (or could be used) to trap tumor cells are described, and relevant examples of their performance are analyzed.
Highlights
For many decades, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have served as the mainstay trident in the fight against cancer (Figure 1 Scheme I)
A good understanding of the escape pathways of a prey allows the hunter to capture it more efficiently; the same rule of thumb can be applied to tumor cells
Immunotherapy, which can be broadly described as the activation of immune cells to make them able to recognize and eliminate tumor cells, could be used
Summary
Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have served as the mainstay trident in the fight against cancer (Figure 1 Scheme I). A magnetic field is applied to generate heat via the nanoparticles and kill the cancerous cells locally (Maier-Hauff et al, 2011) It is currently licensed in Europe for the treatment of brain tumors and has received FDA approval in February 2018 to be used in clinical trials involving prostate cancer patients (MagForce, 2018). Another example is Optune® (Novocure Ltd), a tumor-treating field (TTF) device composed of electrodes that can be placed on the patients’ scalp and connected to a generator to deliver a low-intensity electric field of 200 kHz (Taphoorn et al, 2018). Among the numerous classes of novel anticancer treatments entering the market, cancer immunotherapy is arguably the one that is currently attracting the highest level of attention (Figure 1 Scheme II-2).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
