Mitochondrial-Based Nanomedicine in Treatment of Liver Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent type of liver cancer, representing around 97% of cases in humans. Mitochondria play a crucial role in slowing the progression of HCC and are utilized in developing precision medicine strategies targeting various mitochondria-related pathways. Recent developments in nanomedicine exploit the unique features of nanoparticles for improving drug delivery and efficacy specifically to mitochondria, bypassing the problems related to conventional chemotherapy. Mitochondria-targeted nanomedicines are developed for damaging mitochondrial DNA in liver cancer tissues by increasing reactive oxygen species perturbing redox balance and respiratory chain. This review emphasizes the future of mitochondrial-targeted nanomedicine in transforming liver cancer management and encourages an attempt to continuously improve these strategies to provide patients with better survival chances and quality of life.