Nanocarrier-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies

Drug delivery systems (DDS) may improve the therapeutic performance of chemotherapy in lung cancer, but their preclinical efficacy has not been quantitatively synthesized. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled in vivo mouse studies evaluating DDS-based chemotherapeutic formulations for lung cancer. Databases were searched from inception to 15 February 2025, and methodological quality was assessed using the SYRCLE risk-of-bias tool. Thirty studies comprising 47 experiments were included. Compared with corresponding free-drug treatments, DDS-based chemotherapy significantly reduced tumor volume (WMD -310.67 mm³; 95% CI: -375.51 to -245.83; p < 0.001), although substantial heterogeneity was observed. Both targeted and non-targeted DDS were associated with tumor growth inhibition, and targeted formulations showed a larger average reduction; however, this finding should be interpreted in light of differences in formulation properties, tumor models, and treatment protocols. Nanoparticle, liposomal, and micellar platforms all demonstrated significant antitumor effects, while combination DDS and docetaxel- or cisplatin-based systems showed large effects in subgroup analyses with variable sample sizes. These findings support the continued development of DDS-based chemotherapy for lung cancer, but standardized reporting of nanocarrier characterization, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, toxicity, and rigorous animal-study design is required to improve reproducibility and translational relevance.