Advanced Nanotechnology Leading the Way to Multimodal Imaging‐Guided Precision Surgical Therapy

Abstract

Surgical resection is the primary and most effective treatment for most patients with solid tumors. However, patients suffer from postoperative recurrence and metastasis. In the past years, emerging nanotechnology has led the way to minimally invasive, precision and intelligent oncological surgery after the rapid development of minimally invasive surgical technology. Advanced nanotechnology in the construction of nanomaterials (NMs) for precision imaging-guided surgery (IGS) as well as surgery-assisted synergistic therapy is summarized, thereby unlocking the advantages of nanotechnology in multimodal IGS-assisted precision synergistic cancer therapy. First, mechanisms and principles of NMs to surgical targets are briefly introduced. Multimodal imaging based on molecular imaging technologies provides a practical method to achieve intraoperative visualization with high resolution and deep tissue penetration. Moreover, multifunctional NMs synergize surgery with adjuvant therapy (e.g., chemotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy) to eliminate residual lesions. Finally, key issues in the development of ideal theranostic NMs associated with surgical applications and challenges of clinical transformation are discussed to push forward further development of NMs for multimodal IGS-assisted precision synergistic cancer therapy.

Image‐guided tumor surgery: The emerging role of nanotechnology

“…Recently, there has been tremendous growth in the volume and types of NPs used for IGS (Wang et al, ). NPs can be classified into two categories, hard and soft.…”

“…Also, ICG served as a photosensitizer to improve synergistic PDT/PTT and acted as a fluorescent imaging probe. This, combined with CD44 targeting provided by HA, resulted in the efficacious treatment of colorectal tumors and improved PA and NIRF contrast (Wang, Fan, et al, ). Although FGS was not the primary objective of the IONPs‐ICG‐HA study, it demonstrated the versatility of SPIONs for multimodal imaging/theranostics of solid tumors.…”

“…In addition to simple nanoformulations, there are more complex systems that are utilized for the delivery of NIR‐II contrast agents to solid tumors (Cai et al, ). Two unique examples include an SWNT‐coated M13 bacteriophage (Ceppi et al, ) and red blood cell‐based probe (RBCp; Wang, Fan, et al, ). Another innovative NP delivery strategy is in vivo assembly of up/downconversion NPs (U/DCNPs).…”

Recent Advances in Crosslinked Nanogel for Multimodal Imaging and Cancer Therapy

“…Multimodal imaging which combines two or more imaging modalities into one system usually has better imaging effect than any single imaging modality [ 95 ]. To combine the advantages of above two nanogel systems, Shi et al designed a CT/MRI dual-modal imaging nanogel system [ 69 ].…”

Moving Beyond the Pillars of Cancer Treatment: Perspectives From Nanotechnology

“…Theranostic nanomedicine (combination of diagnostic and therapeutic entities into a single platform) can potentially improve outcomes in the post-operative settings as well (Feng et al, 2020 ). Synergism of precision surgery and nanomedicine has been explored in depth in other excellent reviews, and thus the intersection of nanomedicine with surgical oncology is not a main focus of this review (Singhal et al, 2010 ; Wang et al, 2019 ).…”