Advances in Natural or Synthetic Nanoparticles for Metastatic Melanoma Therapy and Diagnosis

Abstract

Advanced melanoma is still a major challenge in oncology. In the early stages, melanoma can be treated successfully with surgery and the survival rate is high, nevertheless the survival rate drops drastically after metastasis dissemination. The identification of parameters predictive of the prognosis to support clinical decisions and of new efficacious therapies are important to ensure patients the best possible prognosis. Recent progress in nanotechnology allowed the development of nanoparticles able to protect drugs from degradation and to deliver the drug to the tumor. Modification of the nanoparticle surface by specific molecules improves retention and accumulation in the target tissue. In this review, we describe the potential role of nanoparticles in advanced melanoma treatment and discuss the current efforts of designing polymeric nanoparticles for controlled drug release at the site upon injection. In addition, we highlight the advances as well as the challenges of exosome-based nanocarriers as drug vehicles. We place special focus on the advantages of these natural nanocarriers in delivering various cargoes in advanced melanoma treatment. We also describe the current advances in knowledge of melanoma-related exosomes, including their biogenesis, molecular contents and biological functions, focusing our attention on their utilization for early diagnosis and prognosis in melanoma disease.

Ultrasound-Mediated Cavitation Enhances EGFR-Targeting PLGA-PEG Nano-Micelle Delivery for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment

“…In an effort to reduce these toxic side effects and enhance the clinical utility of DOX, many have sought to develop nano-scale drug-delivery systems [ 12 ], with lipid-based particles being the most common particle type owing to their perceived safety. Nanomedicines offer a number of advantages over traditional drug-delivery strategies, including excellent bioavailability, prolonged stability while in circulation, improved drug solubility, an ability to shield off-target tissues from the effects of the encapsulated drugs [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], and a lower risk of opsonization [ 17 , 18 ]. The enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR) enables the preferential accumulation of nanoparticles within tumor tissues [ 19 ] owing to the relatively poor lymphatic drainage and dysregulated endothelial vasculature within these malignancies [ 20 ].…”

Chitosan Nanoparticle-Based System: A New Insight into the Promising Controlled Release System for Lung Cancer Treatment

“…As shown in Figure 1, for example, the brief mechanism of a therapeuticencapsulated CNP system for lung cancer treatment has been illustrated. CS is one of the most prominently used natural polyaminosaccharides due to its characteristics, including good biocompatibility and biodegradability, ease of synthesis, non-toxicity, nonimmunogenic, and applicable to a wide range of therapeutics [20,[60][61][62]. Besides, as compared with other biodegradable polymers having a pharmacopeial monograph, CS is known as the only polymer that exhibits a cationic character, which resulted in its utilization as a drug delivery system [63].…”

Editorial on Special Issue “Advances and Novel Treatment Options in Metastatic Melanoma”

“…Based on recent progress in nanotechnology, nanoparticles represent another important therapeutic approach now moving to therapy. Indeed, nanovesicles can be loaded with a therapeutic cargo and modified in order to improve their entry and accumulation into the tumor, in turn preventing their content from degradation [13]. In addition, novel approaches based on so called "smart nanoparticles" are now under clinical trials in melanoma patients.…”