Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Therefore, the development of safe and effective cancer therapeutics is highly critical. Photothermal therapy (PTT) has recently emerged as a potential cancer treatment strategy, with layered double hydroxides (LDHs) showing high potential for PTT-based synergistic therapies. This review summarizes the photothermal cancer treatment applications of LDHs reported in the last three years; additionally, we introduce a nanoplatform for cancer diagnosis and treatment. We believe that PTT with/without other therapies, such as gas therapy, could open new frontiers in safe chemotherapy.