Cancer nanomedicine: Concepts, promises, and challenges

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Despite improved understanding and enormous breakthroughs in treatment, ultimately defeating cancer remains challenging. Cancer nanomedicine, one of the most active areas in nanotechnology, focuses on improving the efficacy of chemotherapeutics and/or the imaging capability of diagnostic probes by enabling therapeutic and/or diagnostic functionalities on a nanoscale platform. This review aims to provide a tutorial on the current landscape of cancer nanomedicine. We start with a few biological examples to illustrate the general concept of nanomedicine. We then highlight several major advantages of nanomedicine and explain its significant role in reshaping the pharmaceutical industry. Afterward, we discuss key factors affecting the efficacy of nanomedicines in cancer therapy. We also discuss the primary challenges by focusing on the gap between in vitro and in vivo studies. Finally, we conclude this review by illustrating the opportunities in the rational design of next-generation nanomedicines.