Magnetic Nanostructures for Cancer Theranostic Applications

AbstractPurpose of ReviewCancer is a life-threatening disease and one of the leading causes of death globally. Currently a good number therapeutic modalities including chemotherapy are used to treat cancer. All these treatments have their own advantages and disadvantages, and hence, usually two or more therapies are combined for effective treatment of cancer. However, the inadequacy of treatment is so high that in the past few decades, deaths due to cancer did not change much, even after development of several new treatment modalities and drugs. Early detection and treatment are the most important factors for ensuring success of cancer therapies. So, people are continuously working on an endeavour to develop superior technologies for the early detection and treatment of cancer. Nanotechnology is opening up a window of new possibilities or opportunities to address this menace. Magnetic nanostructures (MNSs) can play an important role in cancer theranostic applications. This review highlights the different applications of MNSs in cancer theranostic applications.Recent FindingsMagnetic nanoparticles have been extensively investigated for cancer imaging, drug targeting and hyperthermia applications.SummaryThis paper reviews the different cancer detection and treatment modalities using magnetic nanostructures, their advantages over the traditional methods, current status, challenges and future prospects with the help of illustrative examples from recent literature.
Source: Current Pathobiology Reports - Category: Laboratory Medicine Source Type: research