Cytotoxicity of Nanocarrier-Based Drug Delivery in Oral Cancer Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Oral cancer remains 1 of the biggest health care challenges; it has a poor response to treatment, and treatment often results in severe side effects. Nano-targeted drug carrier-assisted drug delivery systems can improve the benefits of targeted drug delivery and treatment efficacy. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of targeted nano carrier drug delivery systems on the management of oral cancer.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Scopus using PRISMA guidelines, to identify relevant in vitro and in vivo (human) studies. Studies evaluating the impact of nanocarrier-based delivery systems on oral cancer cells or human models were selected. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using random-effects models via RevMan 5.4, and heterogeneity among studies was assessed.

Results: After full-text assessment, 15 research articles were included [14 in vitro studies and 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT)]. In the meta-analysis, the pooled data (IC₅₀) for the impact of the nanocarrier delivery system vs control on oral cancer was -7.67 (95% CI: -41.77, 26.43), with a high heterogeneity (I² = 92%, P < 0.00001). Moreover, in vitro studies had a medium risk of bias, while the RCT had some concerns in the randomization domain.

Conclusion: Nanocarrier-based drug delivery has been found to be a superior approach compared to drug delivery in free form, increasing the efficacy and safety of oral cancer treatment.