Nanomedicine in Melanoma: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Excerpt

As cutaneous melanoma is a highly aggressive and drug-resistant cancer, there is intense research focusing on developing new, efficient drugs. Nanomedicine focuses on developing different groups of nanomaterials for both diagnosis and therapy, and this combination of specific diagnosis and therapy is called theranostics. Nanomaterials tailored as delivery vehicles can be nanocapsules, nanorods, nanotubes, nanoshells, and nanocages. All these structures protect the intended drug against degradation and enhance its stability. The development and characterization of polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, liposomes, nanohydrogel, dendrimers, inorganic nanoparticles, and hybrid nanocarriers are among the delivery vehicles that transport different anticancer agents. Functionalization of nanocarriers with specific molecules, such as antibodies, can generate different smart nanodrugs for application in cancer therapy and/or diagnosis. Nanotherapeutic strategies deal with several shortcomings that comprise of tumor characteristics, biological barriers, biocompatibility, and so on. As nanostructures interact with various host biomolecules, comprehensive in vitro cellular models call for evaluation of physicochemical properties, dose, and time of action of nanomaterials, while in vivo assessments would provide valuable data regarding the level of absorption, tissue/organ distribution, and metabolism. The future perspectives in nanotechnology applied to cancer overcomes the translational barrier from the laboratory to the clinical application to potentially improve conventional theranostic techniques.