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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

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Injectable hydrogels as emerging drug-delivery platforms for tumor therapy

Yao Cheng1, Haitao Zhang1, Hua Wei1

  • 1Hunan Province Cooperative Innovation Center for Molecular Target New Drug Study & School of Pharmaceutical Science, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, 28 W Changsheng Road, Hengyang 421001, Hunan, China. zhanghaitao@usc.edu.cn.

Biomaterials Science
|February 6, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Injectable hydrogels offer a minimally invasive approach for delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to tumors. This review explores their preparation, drug delivery mechanisms, and optimized therapeutic efficiency for improved cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Research
  • Oncology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Concerns regarding side effects and targeting efficacy of chemotherapy drugs drive the need for advanced drug delivery systems.
  • Injectable hydrogels are emerging as promising carriers for *in vivo* drug delivery due to their minimally invasive nature.
  • Optimizing drug concentration at tumor sites and minimizing systemic toxicity are key goals in cancer therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review the composition and preparation of injectable hydrogels for tumor therapy.
  • To highlight drug delivery mechanisms utilizing hydrogels for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.
  • To discuss the optimized therapeutic efficiency of drugs encapsulated within hydrogels and future perspectives.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of existing literature on injectable hydrogels for tumor therapy.
  • Analysis of hydrogel composition, preparation methodologies, and drug encapsulation techniques.
  • Evaluation of *in vivo* drug delivery mechanisms and therapeutic efficacy.

Main Results:

  • Injectable hydrogels demonstrate potential for enhanced drug concentration at tumor sites.
  • Hydrogel encapsulation can improve therapeutic outcomes and minimize systemic side effects of chemotherapeutic agents.
  • Diverse drug delivery mechanisms are facilitated by various hydrogel formulations.

Conclusions:

  • Injectable hydrogels represent a viable strategy for minimally invasive tumor therapy.
  • Further research into hydrogel properties can optimize drug delivery and therapeutic efficiency.
  • Future applications may include non-surgical, real-time diagnostic tools for cancer treatment.

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