Peptide-Based Agents for Cancer Treatment: Current Applications and Future Directions.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Drug Discovery

Background:

• Peptide-based strategies offer high specificity and tumor-targeting capabilities for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
• Bioactive peptides with anti-cancer activities (ACPs) are advantageous due to targeted delivery, personalized design, small size, and simple production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements and future perspectives in peptide-based strategies for cancer treatment.
• To provide a detailed overview of current approaches, design strategies, administration routes, and technological progress in peptide-based cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

• Literature search conducted using PubMed (until June 2023) and ClinicalTrials.gov for relevant articles and clinical trial information.
• Focus on peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs), diagnostic applications, image-guided surgery, and immunomodulation via peptide vaccines.

Main Results:

• Peptide-based strategies demonstrate significant potential in pre-clinical and clinical settings, particularly for targeted delivery and immunomodulation.
• Peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) and peptide vaccines show promise, with extensive testing in clinical trials.

Conclusions:

• Despite advantages like targeted delivery and personalized design, the number of FDA-approved peptide agents for solid cancers remains limited.
• Further research and development are needed to overcome limitations and fully realize the potential of peptide-based cancer therapies.