Nano-oncology: Clinical Application for Cancer Therapy and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Nanotechnology, a multidisciplinary field progressing from innovations in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, has the potential to revolutionize human health. The term nano-oncology has been coined to refer to the application of nanotechnology for detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. It can transform cancer therapy by addressing the paramount issues in clinical cancer care which include lack of tools for early detection, drug resistance, lack of targeted therapies, nonspecificity, systemic toxicity, metastasis, and relapse. Nanotechnology is able to find solutions to these unmet needs because of the unique ability of nanomaterials to deliver diagnostic or therapeutic agents or both, its ability for passive/active targeting of cancer cells, and its potential to readily cross-biological membranes and escape immunosurveillance. This chapter describes the current state of the art of nanotechnology-based oncology products which are clinically approved or are undergoing clinical trials in detail. In addition, it gives critical reflections on the challenges in clinical translation of nanomedicine and future perspectives.