Drug delivery systems of gefitinib for improved cancer therapy: A review

Lung cancer is an uncontrolled and abnormal mass of growing cells with the highest mortality rate in the world. Progressive lung cancer shows a robust resistance to cancer therapy; today no acceptable therapeutic results are achieved with drugs. Gefitinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor and blocks the proliferation of downstream signals that prevent cancer cells from proliferating by inhibiting tyrosine phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor. It also increases survival rates in patients with progressive lung cancer. Gefitinib belongs to the BCS class II drugs and due to its low bioavailability; its clinical use has been severely restricted. In recent years, several research papers have been published on the use of nanoparticles to increase therapeutic efficacy and drug targeting in lung cancer. Furthermore, to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of gefitinib, nanoparticles have been extensively studied and several nanoparticles including polymers, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, nano cells, albumin, and silica nanoparticles have been developed for the treatment of lung cancer. All of these nanocarriers have improved targeted gefitinib treatment of lung cancer and improved nanomedicines for lung cancer treatment. This article provides an overview of various nanotechnology-based carrier systems of gefitinib such as polymeric, lipidic, albumin, and silica nanoparticles for lung cancer therapy. It also discusses the targeted and responsive delivery of gefitinib along with a combination strategy for better therapeutic efficacy. We believe that this manuscript will bring important information for formulation scientists to overcome the biopharmaceutical challenges associated with gefitinib for better clinical outcomes.