Messina Samantha, Zuchegna Candida, Bruzzi Mara
Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre, Roma, Italy.
Department of Epidemiology, Preclinical Research and Advanced Diagnostics, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) 'L. Spallanzani', Rome, Italy.
Front Oncol. 2025 Aug 11;15:1641752. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1641752. eCollection 2025.
Therapeutic agents into the brain are a major challenge for treatment of brain cancer due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that prevents many drugs from reaching the brain. The deadliest form of brain cancer is glioblastoma (GBM), and its current standard treatment involves surgical removal of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The main limitations of chemotherapy for brain tumors are BBB permeability, lack of specificity, and potential damage to healthy tissue. Enhanced molecular understanding of the underlying glioblastoma pathogenesis doesn't lead to better therapeutic options. The emergence of nanotechnologies offers a promising solution, as controlled drug delivery using nanoparticles to bypass the BBB. Nanoparticles embrace a wide range of synthetic and natural biological materials effective in enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic efforts, alone or in combination with immunological, genetic, or cellular therapies. Lipid-based, inorganic, and polymeric nanoparticles are on the cutting edge of precision medicine for cancer as both therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Currently, there is no consensus on the most effective nanoparticle formulation for treating brain tumors, including their size, composition, targeting, and drug delivery mechanisms. Nanoparticles also have some drawbacks, including uncertain toxicity, reproducibility, and high cost. This short review provides a selection of primary research on nanoparticles as delivery chemotherapeutic systems, with a highlight on Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radiotherapy (RT) combinatorial modalities. Here we critically examine the most significant research findings in the field of nanomedicine as applied to glioblastoma therapy, with a particular emphasis on chemotherapeutic nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery. In parallel, we provide an overview of the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, informed by recent advances in their engineering, with a special focus on combinatorial strategies involving photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radiotherapy (RT). Our analysis focuses on highly potent anticancer drugs that are well characterized in terms of their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The latest developments in immunotherapy and molecular-targeted treatments are intentionally excluded. Our viewpoint is grounded in the conventional yet highly effective chemotherapy-based delivery approach, which remains widely used against many of the most lethal human cancers. Despite being underrepresented in current literature, this strategy holds strong potential for clinical translation and competitiveness.
由于血脑屏障(BBB)的存在,许多药物无法进入大脑,这给脑癌治疗带来了重大挑战。脑癌最致命的形式是胶质母细胞瘤(GBM),其目前的标准治疗方法包括手术切除肿瘤,随后进行化疗和放疗。脑肿瘤化疗的主要局限性在于血脑屏障通透性、缺乏特异性以及对健康组织的潜在损害。对胶质母细胞瘤潜在发病机制的分子理解增强,但并未带来更好的治疗选择。纳米技术的出现提供了一个有前景的解决方案,即使用纳米颗粒进行可控药物递送以绕过血脑屏障。纳米颗粒包含多种合成和天然生物材料,单独或与免疫、基因或细胞疗法联合使用时,能有效增强诊断和治疗效果。基于脂质、无机和聚合物的纳米颗粒作为治疗和诊断工具,处于癌症精准医学的前沿。目前,对于治疗脑肿瘤最有效的纳米颗粒制剂,包括其大小、组成、靶向和药物递送机制,尚无共识。纳米颗粒也有一些缺点,包括毒性不确定、可重复性和成本高。这篇简短的综述提供了关于纳米颗粒作为递送化疗系统的一些主要研究,重点介绍了光动力疗法(PDT)和放射疗法(RT)的联合模式。在此,我们批判性地审视了纳米医学领域应用于胶质母细胞瘤治疗的最重要研究发现,特别强调基于化疗纳米颗粒(NP)的药物递送。同时,我们根据纳米颗粒工程的最新进展,概述了纳米颗粒的物理化学性质,特别关注涉及光动力疗法(PDT)和放射疗法(RT)的联合策略。我们的分析聚焦于在药代动力学和药效学方面有充分表征的高效抗癌药物。免疫疗法和分子靶向治疗的最新进展未作讨论。我们的观点基于传统但高效的基于化疗的递送方法,这种方法仍广泛用于对抗许多最致命的人类癌症。尽管在当前文献中所占篇幅较少,但该策略具有很强的临床转化潜力和竞争力。
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