Nanomedicine solutions for inhibiting anastasis and inducing apoptosis to mitigate relapse in treatment-resistant cancers

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of global mortality, significantly impacted by treatment resistance and the toxicity of conventional therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. Recent studies show that anastasis—the recovery of cells from near-death states—as a key mechanism promoting cancer relapse and apoptosis resistance. During anastasis, stress-induced caspase activation allows cancer cells to survive, increase chemoresistance, and enhance metastatic potential. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) reinforce this resilience by repairing damaged proteins and maintaining cell viability under stress. This review presents novel nanotechnology-based strategies that disrupt these survival pathways by targeting HSP inhibitors and caspase modulators directly to tumors using advanced nanoparticles. By focusing on the interplay between anastasis and apoptosis, our approach aims to inhibit the mechanisms that enable cancer cells to evade death while enhancing treatment delivery precision and minimizing systemic toxicity. These nanotech-enhanced strategies promise to overcome treatment resistance and lead to safer, more effective anticancer therapies. Such innovations could significantly advance our understanding of cell death and survival in cancer, paving the way for next-generation therapeutic interventions.