Application of Nanotechnology in Cancer Treatment

Cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases in man that accounts for 14 million new cancer cases and 8 million deaths per year worldwide. The current trend in the management of cancer includes established triad of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy supplemented by biological and targeted therapy in specific cancers. Recent years saw tremendous progress in the field of biotechnology and human genomics leading to better understanding about cancer pathogenesis, discovery of cancer markers, and promising novel therapy. Despite above advances, the surgery involves loss of organ and function, radiation-induced complications, and chemotherapy-related second malignancies and drug resistance. In some cancers, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy remain ineffective. In recent years, nanotechnology shows potential promise in the management of cancer. Nanoparticles attached to cancer marker targeted antibodies could detect cancer at earlier phases of cancer development, better than existing methods. Novel designed nanomaterials could carry payload of cytotoxic drugs or lethal toxins inside cancer cells and defy host immune defence and protect normal cells, thereby could result in cancer cure with least side effects. Radiation treatment is non-specific; therefore, intratumour injection of nanomaterials could generate short-range electrons inside tumour and enhance radiation lethality to tumour and no effects to the normal tissues. Topical or parenteral injection of nanomaterials during surgical procedure could add surgeons to precisely take out tumour with useful surgical margin. Nanotechnology is a vast field of unexplored science which is unknown to medical field could possibly redefine cancer treatment. However, we do not know the long-term consequences, metabolism of nanoparticles inside body, excretion from body fluids, safety profile, and environmental effects. Despite of extensive hype in science for over a decade, there are very few nanotechnology-based drugs used in clinical practice, mostly using PEG micelle technology to avoid immune reactions and increased absorption of cancer pain medications. Lot more translational clinical research is necessary to use nanotechnology as part of oncological management in future.