A comprehensive review on revolutionizing pancreatic cancer Treatment: Liposomal innovations

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a lethal disease characterized by a poor prognosis and limited treatment efficacy. Approximately 90 % of pancreatic tumors are classified as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), making it the most prevalent type of PC. Various conventional treatments are available for PC, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiodynamictherapy, phototherapy and supportive care. Despite their utilization, their effectiveness is limited by several drawbacks such as toxicity, resistance to treatment, and damage to healthy tissues. Liposomes have emerged as a promising solution to enhance the therapeutic effectivenessof various chemotherapeutic agents for PC. Various liposomes, including PEG-coated, pH-sensitive, thermosensitive, enzyme-responsive, ultrasound-sensitive, ligand-targeted, and magnetic liposomes, have demonstrated great potential in preclinical studies. Although various clinical trials are conducted on liposomal formulations, they reveal the therapeutic potential of liposomes for clinical utility. The patent landscape is also studied to get insights into advancements and improvements in the research area. Overall, the liposomes have great potential to enhancethe delivery of drugs by encapsulating both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs, possessing targeted delivery to tumor sites, offering improvement in bioavailability, reducing adverse effects, overcoming drug resistance, and enhancing the therapeutic outcomes. This review highlights the potential of liposomes to transform PC therapy by enabling target delivery, reducing off-target effects, and enhancing therapeutic efficacy to improve patient outcomes.