Engineered Magnetic Nanoparticles for Dual-Modality Cancer Therapy: Advances in Hyperthermia and Magnetically Controlled Drug Delivery

Cancers remain among the most lethal diseases worldwide, accounting for a substantial proportion of human mortality. Despite significant advances, conventional therapeutic strategies are often limited by tumor microenvironment-mediated resistance, non-specific biodistribution, and severe systemic toxicity, underscoring the urgent need for more effective and targeted treatment modalities. Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT), coupled with magnetically guided drug delivery using biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), has emerged as a promising clinical approach for selective cancer therapy. This strategy enables precise localization at tumor sites, enhanced colloidal stability, and the effective preservation of surrounding healthy tissues. This review consolidates recent progress in the design, synthesis, and physicochemical characterization of MNPs developed for dual-modality cancer treatment. Various material platforms are critically examined, including iron oxide-based nanoparticles, ferromagnetic alloys, lanthanum strontium manganites, zirconium-based materials, carbon-based nanostructures, bioactive glasses, and glass-ceramic composites, with a particular emphasis on the structure-property correlations influencing magnetic performance and therapeutic outcomes. Key mechanisms governing alternating magnetic field-induced heat generation and thermally triggered drug release are discussed. The strategic tuning of the Curie temperature within biologically safe limits, combined with thermoresponsive surface functionalization, enables controlled hyperthermia and spatiotemporally regulated drug release. This integrated nanoplatform significantly enhances tumor selectivity while minimizing systemic toxicity.