Mechanophysical-chemotherapy combinations: a dual approach to combat cancer

Cancer treatment, owing to its myriad limitations, has often been a formidable challenge to both the practitioners as well as researchers. There has been a continued effort in designing newer and successful strategies to obtain optimal results. One such strategy includes the elucidation of a combinatorial approach of the conventional chemotherapy protocol with various mechanophysical methods. This opinion article discusses that how two thrust areas like targeting cancerous cells using a novel drug-delivery system and mechanophysical methods of killing them can be amalgamated into a complete new vector, which is driven with precision, specificity, accuracy, and better efficacy. This approach relies on devising a mechanophysical responsive vehicle, which could be added to other anticancer therapies. The new combined tool would then kill the cancer cells not just by releasing the chemotherapeutic drug at the desired site but also by killing individual cells through the purported mechanophysical stimuli. Summarily, the resultant vector generates an angle influenced by the direction of the mechanophysical vector, leading to a better therapeutic modality.