Lipid-based nanocarriers in combination chemotherapy: a promising strategy for advanced skin cancer management

Abstract

Skin cancer is a prevalent and life-threatening condition, increasingly influenced by environmental changes, industrialization, and genetic factors, which contribute to its rising global incidence. Conventional chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of clinical treatment; however, its efficacy is limited by challenges such as poor drug solubility, low permeability, and systemic toxicity. Combination chemotherapy, leveraging additive or synergistic effects, has emerged as a superior approach, enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, particularly lipid-based nanocarriers, have demonstrated significant potential in addressing these limitations by improving drug solubility, permeability, and tumor-specific targeting while minimizing toxicity. This review critically examines the rationale and significance of combination therapies delivered via lipid-based nanocarriers, with a focus on recent clinical advancements and patents. By highlighting case studies and discussing the clinical and translational relevance of these systems, this article underscores their role in revolutionizing skin cancer treatment. Ultimately, lipid-based nanocarriers hold promise for enabling more personalized, effective, and safer therapeutic strategies, paving the way for future innovations in oncology. Furthermore, this review takes a critical stance by evaluating key clinical data, including nanocarrier size ranges (typically 50-200 nm), enhanced permeability and retention effects, and documented improvements in drug bioavailability and survival rates, thereby providing an analytical perspective beyond descriptive trends.

Keywords: Clinical trial; Drug combination; Nanocarriers; Patent; Skin cancer.