Exploring Nanoemulsion for Liver Cancer Therapy

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Among these, at least 0.78 million people died of liver cancer alone. The recognized risk factors for liver cancer include chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, exposure to dietary aflatoxin, fatty liver disease, alcohol-induced cirrhosis, obesity, smoking, diabetes, and iron overload. The treatment plan for early diagnosed patients includes radiation therapy, tumour ablation, surgery, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Some sort of drug delivery vehicles has to be used when the treatment plan is targeted chemotherapy. Nanoemulsions are a class of biphasic liquid dosage form which are mixtures of oil and water stabilized by a surfactant. They are either transparent or bluish in hue and serve as a wonderful carrier system for chemotherapeutic drugs. These vehicles have a particle size in the range of 20-200 nm allowing them to be delivered successfully in the deepest of tissues. Recent publications on nanoemulsions reveal their acceptance and a popular choice for delivering both synthetic and herbal drugs to the liver. This work focuses on some anti-cancer agents that utilized the advantages of nanoemulsion for liver cancer therapy.
Source: Current Cancer Therapy Reviews - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research