Nanotechnology-aided advancement in the combating of cancer metastasis

Abstract

Cancer, especially when it has metastasized to different locations in the body, is notoriously difficult to treat. Metastatic cancer accounts for most cancer deaths and thus remains an enormous challenge. During the metastasis process, cancer cells negotiate a series of steps termed the "metastatic cascadeˮ that offer potential for developing anti-metastatic therapy strategies. Currently available conventional treatment and diagnostic methods addressing metastasis come with their own pitfalls and roadblocks. In this contribution, we comprehensively discuss the potential improvements that nanotechnology-aided approaches are able to bring, either alone or in combination with the existing conventional techniques, to the identification and treatment of metastatic disease. We tie specific nanotechnology-aided strategies to the complex biology of the different steps of the metastatic cascade in order to open up new avenues for fine-tuned targeting and development of anti-metastatic agents designed specifically to prevent or mitigate the metastatic outgrowth of cancer. We also present a viewpoint on the progress of translation of nanotechnology into cancer metastasis patient care.

Keywords: Cancer; Metastasis; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Translation.

Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the metastatic cascade. Malignant cells detach from the primary tumor, traverse into the circulatory (including the lymphatic) systems, extravasate at a distant secondary site, invade and proliferate and colonize at a distant organ as micrometastasis and, finally, outgrow as macroscopic metastatic tumor deposits. Figure imported from Saxena and Cristofori [139]. Annotations on the figure represent references of nanotechnology-assisted targeting approaches addressing the various steps of the metastatic cascade as demonstrated in the figure and discussed in the text