Potential Approaches of Nanotechnology for Cancer Therapy: An Insight

Cancer is one of the most severe threats to people all over the world. Cancer incidence and mortality are also on the rise. Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy are examples of traditional cancer treatment methods. Chemotherapy has been widely used in clinics due to its simple and effective process; however, the therapeutic potential of cancer chemotherapy is severely unsatisfactory due to side effects and drug resistance, non-specific distribution of medicines, multidrug resistance (MDR), and cancer heterogeneity. A drug delivery system (DDS) that combines chemotherapy with supplementary cancer management is required to overcome these limitations and improve cancer therapeutic efficiency. Because of nanomaterials’ distinct physicochemical and biological properties, nanotechnologies have presented high potential in cancer therapeutics in recent years. Nanocarriers such as nanodiamonds, quantum dots, high-density lipoprotein nanostructures, liposomes, polymer nanoparticles, dendrimers, nanoconjugates, and gold nanoparticles are used in drug delivery of their physicochemical and optical properties, adaptability, sub-cell size, and biocompatibility. They provide an efficient means of transporting small molecules and biomacromolecules to diseased cells/tissues. In context to cancer, it provides a unique approach and comprehensive technology for early diagnosis, prediction, prevention, personalized therapy, and medicine. As a result, combinational therapy based on chemotherapy facilitated by nanotechnology is the current trend in clinical research, resulting in significantly improved therapeutic efficiency with minimal side effects to normal tissues. The review focuses on recent developments and approaches in nanotechnology for cancer treatment.