Liposomal formulations for lung cancer treatment in the last two decades: a systematic review

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. To improve the therapeutic outcomes, drug delivery systems, and particularly liposomes, have been widely investigated. Therefore, this review analyzed systematically the literature to inquire about the safety and efficacy of liposomal formulations in lung cancer treatment.

Three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane CENTRAL) were systematically searched until May 2020. Clinical trials containing information about the effects of liposomal formulations in lung cancer patients were considered eligible.

Twenty two selected studies present different treatment options for both small and non-small-cell lung cancers. After compiling and analyzing all the published information, we verified that combination of liposomal cisplatin and paclitaxel led to a statistically significant improvement of the evaluated outcomes. Moreover, tecemotide, a liposome-based immunotherapy, demonstrated lower toxicity compared to control groups. Evidences that other subgroups could benefit from this formulation were also provided.

This systematic review (registration number CRD42021246587) demonstrates that liposomal formulations are promising alternatives to overcome limitations of traditional cancer therapy. However, larger, longer, randomized and double-blinded clinical trials, selecting their patients' cohort considering more responsive subgroups would be beneficial to strengthen the scientific and clinical evidence of the results herein reported.