Oxygen carriers and cancer chemo- and radiotherapy sensitization: bench to bedside and back

After over a century of preclinical and clinical development, a number of artificial oxygen carriers based either on perfluorochemicals or hemoglobins are currently in advanced clinical trials for their ability to replace red blood cells and to ensure adequate tissue oxygenation in case of acute anemia or infarction. On the other hand, intravenous administration of perflourocarbone emulsions or hemoglobin solutions were effective in increasing the oxygenation throughout experimental tumors, and fueled by exciting new developments in the field, some products are experimentally and clinically investigated as cancer chemo- and radiosensitizing agents. This review is to provide a first overview of the current status of artificial oxygen carriers as a oxygen therapeutics in cancer chemo- and radiotherapy sensitization.