Clinical cancer nanomedicines
Roger M. Pallares, Roman A. Barmin, Alec Wang, Fabian Kießling, Twan Lammers
Abstract
Over the past three decades, nanomedicines have become increasingly common in the treatment of cancer. By altering the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution profiles of drugs, nanomedicines help to reduce toxicity and enhance overall therapeutic indices. This manuscript reviews the current landscape of nanomedicines for cancer therapy, highlighting the formulations that have successfully reached clinical use as well as those being investigated in clinical trials. These formulations include “conventional” nanomedicines that rely on passive drug delivery, as well as newer formulations that are stimuli-responsive, actively targeted, used for combination therapies, or intended to improve immunotherapy. By critically analyzing the clinical progress of nanomedicines, we aim to identify the key features that drive successful translation and lead to clinical impact. • This review discusses the current status of clinical cancer nanomedicines. • Most nanomedicines protect drugs from degradation and improve their biodistribution. • In recent years, a new generation of nanomedicines has reached clinical trials. • Those nanomedicines facilitate treatments that are not possible without nanoparticles.