Applications of Nanomaterials for Theranostics of Melanoma

Abstract

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer with a very high mortality rate. Early diagnosis of the disease, the utilization of more potent pharmacological agents, and more effective drug delivery systems are essential to achieve an optimal treatment plan. The applications of nanotechnology to improve therapeutic efficacy and early diagnosis for melanoma treatment have received great interest among researchers and clinicians. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of utilizing various nanomaterials for theranostics of melanoma. The key importance of using nanomaterials for theranostics of melanoma is to improve efficacy and reduce side effects, ensuring safe implementation in clinical use. As opposed to conventional in vitro diagnostic methods, in vivo medical imaging technologies have the advantages of being a type of non-invasive, real-time monitoring. Several common nanoparticles, including ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, silica nanoparticles, and carbon-based nanoparticles, have been applied to deliver chemotherapeutic agents for the theranostics of melanoma. The application of nanomaterials for theranostics in molecular imaging (MRI, PET, US, OI, etc.) plays an important role in targeting drug delivery of melanoma, by monitoring the distribution site of the molecular imaging probe and the therapeutic drug in the body in real-time. Hence, it is worthwhile to anticipate the approval of these nanomaterials for theranostics in molecular imaging by the US Food and Drug Administration in clinical trials.

Utilization of Nanoparticles, Nanodevices, and Nanotechnology in the Treatment Course of Cutaneous Melanoma

“…By monitoring the distribution site of the molecular imaging probe and the therapeutic drug simultaneously in the body, these nuclear imaging techniques can provide highly‐specific drug delivery to the melanocytic tumors. [ 91 ] ( Table 3 )…”

Drug Delivery Systems and Flavonoids: Current Knowledge in Melanoma Treatment and Future Perspectives

“…UVB radiation can cause direct DNA damage that may contribute to inducing mutations in keratinocytes, upregulation of gene expression and suppression of immune reactions, leading to the development of skin cancer in humans [26,27]. Most melanoma mutations are part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase pathway (PI3K) [28,29].…”

“…Common cytotoxic drugs for melanoma treatment include the alkylating agent dacarbazine and its derivative temozolomide, carboplatin and antimitotic drug paclitaxel, among others [22,31,32]. Due to the invasiveness and metastasis ability of malignant melanoma and despite the results shown by these conventional therapies, some limitations diminish the efficacy of the treat-ments [1,22,28]. Tumor resistance to drugs, toxic side effects such as nausea and fatigue, limited specificity and poor accessibility to tumor tissues complicate the treatment with these conventional therapies [30,33].…”

ITGAL as a prognostic biomarker correlated with immune infiltrates in melanoma

“…The 5-year overall survival rate of patients with melanoma is 92%, and the 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced metastasis (stage IV) is 23% ( 4 ). With the emergence of new treatment methods and targeted drugs, it has brought new hope and a breakthrough to treatment ( 5 , 6 ). However, because malignant melanoma is prone to recurrence and metastasis, any specific treatment cannot improve the overall survival rate ( 7 ).…”