Dendrimers in therapy for breast and colorectal cancer

Current trends in research dealing with methods of developing effective chemotherapy for the two most dangerous killers - breast and colon cancers have been discussed. The input brought by nanotechnology is presented with particular stress on the use of dendrimers. These unique "polymeric compounds" after modification can form intelligent species, transporting drugs into specific areas and at the same time can be used for monitoring the state of organs attacked by cancer cells, as well as the progress of the curing process. They can help to limit the anticancer drugs delivery to designed goals only, eliminating many side effects of chemotherapy. Breast and colon cancer are major problem for public health care in many countries all over the world. During last twenty years a dramatic increase in incidence of both of them has been observed, especially in industrialized countries. Probably, both of them are caused, apart from the hereditary syndromes, by specific point mutation, some hormonal factors in breast cancer and by the strong co-influence of environmental factors and dietary exposure of a patient.