Pharmacotherapeutic approaches for transportation of anticancer agents via skin

Cancer is the largest family of diseases that involve abnormal uncontrolled cell growth which metastasizes to other parts of the body. The most common type of cancers includes lung, liver, colorectal, prostate, stomach, breast and cervical cancer with skin cancer excluding melanoma (contribute up to 40% of the cases). The conventional treatment approaches like surgery, chemotherapy, etc., have several side effects such as severe inflammation and pain. Hence, pharmacotherapeutic approaches of antineoplastic agents can be advantageous for treating various forms of cancer through the skin. Novel transdermal techniques and preparations have been emerged to overcome the limitations of skin and to penetrate inside the cancerous cells by transporting through the deeper tissues of the skin. The transdermal penetration of drugs using different formulations such as nanocarriers, physical penetration enhancement techniques, chemical penetration enhancers and newer technologies such as gels, dendrimers, needle-free injection jet etc., show improved patient compliance, abolition of scars and economic value. The topical delivery of antineoplastic agents is an attractive choice for increasing site-specific delivery, reducing side effects and improving therapeutic effects. The objective of this review is to present insights into pharmacotherapeutic techniques, which can be used for transdermal delivery of anticancer agents through skin due to its potential to create a new frontier in treatment of cancer.