Breaking Down the Arsenal: Recent Progress in the Nanotherapeutic Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a progressed form of advanced liver cancer and is one of the major causes of global cancer burden. The primary causes for high HCC mortality is the delayed diagnosis of the diseaseas early stage HCC is typically asymptomatic and patients frequently overlook the warning signs. Currently, the most efficacious single-drug therapy approved by the food and drug administration (FDA) for HCC is Sorafenib and Nivolumab  as a second-line therapy for late stage HCC. Nowadays nanotechnology is used to deliver either a diagnostic tool for biomolecular imaging ortherapeutic agent. Gene therapy based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) are currently studied to find a potential curative option for HCC. Natural products from plants are being extensively extracted and isolated as they may offer a promising alternative in order to control and treat HCC. They exhibit anti-HCC effects by stimulating the immune system and by hindering various growth pathways involved in cancer development and progression. In this review article, an overview is provided on the current global incidence, ongoing systemic treatment strategies, and recent advances in nanomedicine for the management of HCC and also ongoing efforts to overcome these challenges.