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Monitoring of Nanodrug Accumulation in Murine Breast Cancer Metastases
Published on: August 23, 2024
Nanotheranostics for Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer
Parth Patel1, Kishore Kumar1, Vineet K Jain2
1Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) - Raebareli, Lucknow, India.
Abstract:
Recently, breast cancer has reached the highest incident rate amongst all the reported cancers, and one of its variants, known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), is deadlier compared to the other types of breast cancer due to a lack of feasible diagnostic techniques. Advancements in nanotechnology have paved the way to formulate several nanocarriers with the ability to deliver anticancer drugs effectively and selectively to cancer cells with minimum side effects to non-cancerous cells. Nanotheranostics is a novel approach that can be used in the diagnosis of disease along with therapeutic effects. Currently, various imaging agents, such as organic dyes, radioactive agents, upconversion nanoparticles, various contrasting agents, quantum dots, etc., are being explored for the imaging of internal organs or to examine drug distribution. Furthermore, ligand-targeted nanocarriers, which have the potential to target cancer sites, are being used as advanced agents for cancer theranostic applications, including the identification of various metastatic sites of the cancerous tumor. This review article discusses the need for theranostic application in breast cancer with various imaging techniques, the latest nanotheranostic carriers in breast cancer, and related safety and toxicity issues, as well as highlights the importance of nanotheranostics in breast cancer, which could be helpful in deciphering questions related to nanotheranostic systems.
Insights
Nanotheranostics offers a dual approach for diagnosing and treating breast cancer, especially aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This nanotechnology-based strategy enhances drug delivery and targets cancer sites, improving patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) posing a significant challenge due to limited diagnostic options.
- Current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for breast cancer often lack specificity and can cause side effects.
Approach:
- Nanotheranostics combines diagnostic imaging and targeted drug delivery using nanocarriers for enhanced cancer treatment.
- Various imaging agents (e.g., quantum dots, nanoparticles) and ligand-targeted nanocarriers are being explored for selective cancer cell targeting.
- This review discusses the application of nanotheranostics in breast cancer, including imaging techniques, nanocarrier development, and safety considerations.
Key Points:
- Nanotheranostics enables simultaneous disease diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.
- Nanocarriers improve the efficacy and selectivity of anticancer drug delivery, minimizing damage to healthy tissues.
- Ligand-targeted nanocarriers are crucial for identifying metastatic sites and improving theranostic applications.
Conclusions:
- Nanotheranostics holds significant promise for advancing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, particularly for TNBC.
- Further research into nanotheranostic systems is essential to address safety, toxicity, and clinical application challenges.
- This approach could revolutionize personalized medicine in oncology.
