Nano-BCG: A Promising Delivery System for Treatment of Human Bladder Cancer

Abstract

Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) remains at the forefront of immunotherapy for treating bladder cancer patients. However, the incidence of recurrence and progression to invasive cancer is commonly observed. There are no established effective intravesical therapies available for patients, whose tumors recur following BCG treatment, representing an important unmet clinical need. In addition, there are very limited options for patients who do not respond to or tolerate chemotherapy due to toxicities, resulting in poor overall treatment outcomes. Within this context, nanotechnology is an emergent and promising tool for: (1) controlling drug release for extended time frames, (2) combination therapies due to the ability to encapsulate multiple drugs simultaneously, (3) reducing systemic side effects, (4) increasing bioavailability, (5) and increasing the viability of various routes of administration. Moreover, bladder cancer is often characterized by high mutation rates and over expression of tumor antigens on the tumor cell surface. Therapeutic targeting of these biomolecules may be improved by nanotechnology strategies. In this mini-review, we discuss how nanotechnology can help overcome current obstacles in bladder cancer treatment, and how nanotechnology can facilitate combination chemotherapeutic and BCG immunotherapies for the treatment of non-muscle invasive urothelial bladder cancer.

New quercetin-coated titanate nanotubes and their radiosensitization effect on human bladder cancer

“…Bladder cancer (BC) is the second most common urinary tract malignancy in the world, with the ninth highest incidence, at 430,000 new cases annually [1,2]. It can be categorized as non-muscle-invasive (NMIBC) or muscle-invasive (MIBC) in 75 and 25% of cases, respectively [3,4]. MIBC or metastatic disease is the clinical stage most lethal [5,6].…”

A Review on Cancer Immunotherapy and Applications of Nanotechnology to Chemoimmunotherapy of Different Cancers

“…BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) immunotherapy is reported as the standard treatment for bladder cancer [ 118 ]. In the case of nanoparticulate immunotherapeutic systems, BCG was loaded into the liposome using emulsified liquid evaporation.…”

Current Researches on Nanodrug Delivery Systems in Bladder Cancer Intravesical Chemotherapy

“…Liposomes, polymers, and inorganic nanomaterials are the most dominant drug delivery carriers currently. These carriers exert longer duration of action and reduce side effects by controlling drug release, and can encapsulate multiple drugs to achieve combination therapy, which helps to improve the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy ( 5 – 7 ). To provide a basis for the improvement of bladder cancer intravesical chemotherapy, we elaborate current researches on the application of nano-drug delivery systems.…”