Nanoparticle-Based Therapeutics for Breast Cancer: Advances, Challenges, and Clinical Perspectives

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently recognized fatal carcinoma, accounting for the majority of deaths among women worldwide. Approximately 2.3 million women worldwide are affected by BC each year, and the disease causes about 670,000 deaths. Molecular heterogeneity, frequent intrinsic/acquired resistance, non-specific toxicity, and poor efficacy in aggressive or late-stage disease are the limitations of conventional methods of cancer treatment.

Potentially relevant literature to get the latest developments and updated information related to nanoparticles (NPs)-based BC therapeutics, different NP platforms, passive vs active targeting strategies, preclinical and clinical progress, along with safety, delivery, regulatory, and translational hurdles in BC treatment has been obtained from Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed portals.

When treating BC, NP-based approaches such as liposomes, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), micelles, and solid lipid particles (SLP) provide targeted administration, improved bioavailability, and decreased systemic toxicity.

Conventional therapies are not very effective due to limited biological availability, poor cellular absorption, adverse toxic effects, and the emergence of drug resistance. Thorough screening, along with progressive and leading treatment modalities, has decreased the risk of BC mortality. NPs in cancer therapy are engineered nanoscale agents-metallic, polymeric, or lipid-based-that enhance drug delivery by improving precision, uptake, and overcoming resistance mechanisms. These NPs can be coupled with imaging agents for theranostic applications and functionalized for active targeting.

Through imaging-guided or stimuli-responsive systems, NPs in BC therapy enable targeted drug distribution, reduced systemic toxicity, and the overcoming of multidrug resistance. Scalable production, enhanced safety and biodistribution, and regulatory clarity are warranted to transition cancer nanotherapeutics from the lab to the clinic, as well as the development of tailored theranostics using multi-omics profiling.