Targeted Drug Delivery in Cancer Treatment (September 2022)

Chemotherapy is the most extensively used treatment in the fight against malignant neoplasms. Unfortunately, chemotherapy use is plagued with numerous side effects. These side effects are caused primarily because of the non-specific nature of the treatment as the drug is capable of killing normal and cancerous cells alike. Several drug delivery systems have been investigated to reduce these side effects by encapsulating the chemotherapeutic agent in a nano-sized carrier until it reaches the tumor site. These carriers include: solid nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes and e-liposomes. Once the nanoparticle reaches the desired location, ultrasound is applied to release the chemotherapy drug directly to the cancer site, thus avoiding any interaction with the healthy cells in the body. This way the adverse side effects of chemotherapy are minimized. This lecture will discuss novel targeted chemotherapy carriers used in conjunction with acoustic radiation to treat malignancies.