Advances in nanomaterials for the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancers: A review

Abstract

Nanomaterials (NMs) have increasingly been used for the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancers (HNCs) over the past decade. HNCs can easily infiltrate surrounding tissues and form distant metastases, meaning that most patients with HNC are diagnosed at an advanced stage and often have a poor prognosis. Since NMs can be used to deliver various agents, including imaging agents, drugs, genes, vaccines, radiosensitisers, and photosensitisers, they play a crucial role in the development of novel technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of HNCs. Indeed, NMs have been reported to enhance delivery efficiency and improve the prognosis of patients with HNC by allowing targeted delivery, controlled release, responses to stimuli, and the delivery of multiple agents. In this review, we consider recent advances in NMs that could be used to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of patients with HNC and the potential for future research.

Keywords: Delivery; Head and neck cancer; Nanocarrier; Nanomaterial; Targeting.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Schematic diagram of nanomaterials employed to diagnose and treat head and neck cancers, including nanodiamonds, mesoporous silica, metal nanoparticles (MNPs), liposomes, quantum dots (QDs), polymeric NPs, micelles, and dendrimers.

Fig. 2

Nanomaterials (NMs) used to treat HNC. Therapeutic molecules carried by NMs accumulate at the tumour site through active and passive mechanisms. One such passive mechanism is the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, whereby NMs preferentially deliver agents to tumour tissues owing to the increased vascular permeability of tumour tissues. Active mechanisms of targeted delivery can be achieved by combining NMs with agents such as aptamers, receptor-specific peptides, and monoclonal antibodies. Reproduced with permission [37]. Copyright 2016. SciELO.

Fig. 3

Pathogenic factors for head and neck cancers (HNCs). Alcohol, tobacco abuse, high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and areca-nut abuse are the main pathogenic factors.

Fig. 4

Diagnosis and treatment processes for head and neck cancer (HNC). The diagnosis of HNC often utilises clinical manifestations; imaging examinations such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET)-CT; and histological examinations such as biopsy and lymph node puncture. The main treatments for early HNC include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and photothermal therapy (PTT).

Fig. 5

Application of nanobiomaterials for imaging detection of head and neck cancers. Abbreviations: US, ultrasound; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; CT, computed tomography; SPECT, single-photon emission computed tomography; PET, positron emission tomography.

Fig. 6

Examples of nanomaterials (NMs) for targeted drug delivery. The main components of NM-based drug delivery systems include a nanocarrier, targeting moiety (e.g. aptamers, receptor-specific peptides, or monoclonal antibodies), and cargo (the desired chemotherapeutic drugs).

Fig. 7

Stimulus-responsive nanocarriers for human diseases including solid tumours, cardiovascular diseases (e.g. atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD)), single-gene diseases (e.g. biallelic RPE65-associated retinal dystrophy (BRARD)), and idiopathic diseases (e.g. Crohn's disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) Reproduced with permission [118]. Copyright 2021. Wiley-VCH.