Applications of nanoparticles for diagnosis and therapy of cancer

Abstract

During the last decades, a plethora of nanoparticles have been developed and evaluated and a real hype has been created around their potential application as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Despite their suggestion as potential diagnostic agents, only a single diagnostic nanoparticle formulation, namely iron oxide nanoparticles, has found its way into clinical routine so far. This fact is primarily due to difficulties in achieving appropriate pharmacokinetic properties and a reproducible synthesis of monodispersed nanoparticles. Furthermore, concerns exist about their biodegradation, elimination and toxicity. The majority of nanoparticle formulations that are currently routinely used in the clinic are used for therapeutic purposes. These therapeutic nanoparticles aim to more efficiently deliver a (chemo-) therapeutic drug to the pathological site, while avoiding its accumulation in healthy organs and tissues, and are predominantly based on the "enhanced permeability and retention" (EPR) effect. Furthermore, based on their ability to integrate diagnostic and therapeutic entities within a single nanoparticle formulation, nanoparticles hold great promise for theranostic purposes and are considered to be highly useful for personalizing nanomedicine-based treatments. In this review article, we present applications of diagnostic and therapeutic nanoparticles, summarize frequently used non-invasive imaging techniques and describe the role of EPR in the accumulation of nanotheranostic formulations. In this context, the clinical potential of nanotheranostics and image-guided drug delivery for individualized and improved (chemo-) therapeutic interventions is addressed.

Correlation between Ferumoxytol Uptake in Tumor Lesions by MRI and Response to Nanoliposomal Irinotecan in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors: A Pilot Study

“…Existing data suggest the EPR effect is highly variable across tumor lesions (5) and may be heavily influenced by the tumor microenvironment (6). Rationales for noninvasive imaging aimed toward selection of patients with a sufficiently high level of lesion-specific nanotherapeutic accumulation have been proposed (7,8); however, clinical implementation has been limited (4,9).…”

The role of recent nanotechnology in enhancing the efficacy of radiation therapy

“…As compared to the plethora of pre-clinical evidence demonstrating the benefits of nanoparticles in cancer treatment (Tables 1 and 2), clinical application of nanotechnology (Table 3) has only just started [7,18]. However, the first clinical trials using nanoparticles for cancer treatment have Increased survival compared to RT alone [102] A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T Rat brain astrocytes RS not determined, nontoxic in rat brain astrocytes [118] Photoactivated nanoparticles Ti (TiO 2 :-mol%RE@ SiO 2 )…”

“…Gd-NCT is an experimental cancer treatment based on the physical principal A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 18 that neutron capture by Gd results in the release of focal high-dose radiation, such as γ-rays and electrons. The advantages over the clinically used Boron NCT is that the neutron capture cross section of Gd is 66 times higher than that of 10 Boron [104].…”

“…Some of them were modified on their surfaces with targeting ligands such as antibodies or other molecules in order to improve the pharmacokinetic profile of a compound and selectivity for cancer tissues. They have been extensively reviewed (for example in [7,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]). Reviews focusing on the role of nanotechnology in radiation sensitization exist to a lesser extent [21][22][23][24][25].…”

Insights into the Use of Gadolinium and Gadolinium/Boron-Based Agents in Imaging-Guided Neutron Capture Therapy Applications

“…Moreover, nanoparticles, with a diameter ranging from 50-100 nm can be loaded with a large amount of Gd atoms to be delivered specifically into tumors thus avoiding intratumor injection endowed with many disadvantages. In fact, the most appropriate applications [40][41] and they can be exploited without any modification for Gd-NCT therapeutic protocols [42]. Table 1 reports many examples found in the literature of nanocarriers designed for delivering Gd-based NCT agents to tumor tissues to achieve effective treatment based on precise imaging-guided thermal neutron irradiation.…”