Application of Nano Drug Delivery Systems in Inhibition of Tumors and Cancer Stem Cells

For its high mortality rate, cancer has posed a significant threat to human’s lives. Every year, more than 3.4 million people died for cancer all over the world. The main therapeutic methods for cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, surgery is only conducted for patients with early-stage cancers; chemotherapy and radiotherapy have obvious side effects. In addition, many researches have indicated that cancer stem cells play a crucial role in tumor recurrence and multidrug resistance. Compared with traditional drug carriers, nano drug delivery systems have many advantages in targeting delivery, combination therapy, etc. In recent years, more and more nano drug systems are applied in clinical practice, and various multifunctional nano drug systems are designed to kill cancer stem cells. Our review introduced the main problems in anticancer therapy for cancer stem cells, and the developments of several nano drug delivery systems.