UroToday - Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery in Cancer Treatment - Abstract

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http://www.urotoday.com/browse_categories/prostate_cancer/nanoparticles_for_

drug_delivery_in_cancer_treatment__abstract.html

Wednesday, 06 February 2008

Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Harold

Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

75390, USA.

Nanoparticles (size in nanometer range) provide a new mode of cancer drug

delivery functioning as a carrier for entry through fenestrations in tumor

vasculature allowing direct cell access. These particles allow exquisite

modification for binding to cancer cell membranes, the microenvironment, or

to cytoplasmic or nuclear receptor sites. This results in delivery of high

drug concentrations to the targeted cancer cell, with reduced toxicity of

normal tissue. Several such engineered drugs are in clinical practice,

including liposomal doxorubicin and albumin conjugate paclitaxel. The

carrier mediated paclitaxel has already shown significant efficacy in taxane

resistant cancers, an approach highly relevant in prostate cancer, where

taxanes are the treatment of choice. Other modifications including

transferrin receptor and folate receptor targeted drug delivery molecules

are in study. This new technology provides many exciting therapeutic

approaches for targeted high concentration drug delivery to cancer cells

with reduced injury of normal cells.

Written by

Haley B, Frenkel E.

Reference

Urol Oncol. 2008 Jan-Feb;26(1):57-64.

doi:10.1016/j.urolonc.2007.03.015