Melanoma and Nanotechnology-Based Treatment

Abstract

Melanoma is a malignant tumor arising in melanocytes from the basal layer of the epidermis and is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. Melanoma is aggressive and easily metastasizes, and the survival rate is low. Nanotechnology-based diagnosis and treatment of melanoma have attracted increasing attention. Importantly, nano drug delivery systems have the advantages of increasing drug solubility, enhancing drug stability, prolonging half-life, optimizing bioavailability, targeting tumors, and minimizing side effects; thus, these systems can facilitate tumor cytotoxicity to achieve effective treatment of melanoma. In this review, we discuss current nanosystems used in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma, including lipid systems, inorganic nanoparticles, polymeric systems, and natural nanosystems. The excellent characteristics of novel and effective drug delivery systems provide a basis for the broad applications of these systems in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma, particularly metastatic melanoma.

Alpha-Synuclein and Its Role in Melanocytes

“…PD, which is described as a loss of pigmented dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra by an accumulation of aSyn [26], was also associated with a variety of dermatological disorders [32]. This also includes malignant melanoma [30,31], a skin cancer caused by a malignant transformation of melanocytes [3,70,71] and mal-pigmentation [3]. However, less is known about the impact of aSyn in melanocytes, which are responsible for skin pigmentation.…”

Nanotech Probes: A Revolution in Cancer Diagnosis

“…Nanomedicine is an emerging science often applied in cancer therapy, as it is characterized by tumor-specific drug delivery, conferring a significant therapeutic advantage over traditional interventions (11)(12)(13)(14)(15). The integration of imaging and nanoprobes for cancer diagnosis and treatment may facilitate better responses and reduced side effects in normal tissues (14,16,17).…”

Effects of Carbon Nanomaterials and Aloe vera on Melanomas—Where Are We? Recent Updates

“…A potentially effective approach to fight different types of tumors is the use of functionalized nanoparticles as “molecular chassis” or drug carriers. These drug delivery systems (DDSs), called therapeutic nanoplatforms, allow the coupling of multiple drugs [ 12 ]. Nanoparticles, as parts of a DDS, increase bioavailability and specificity, thus improving therapeutic efficacy by increasing drug retention in the tumor microenvironment.…”

“…In this regard, nanoparticle systems represent the Holy Grail in many applications, not only in objective/specific drug delivery by DDSs but also in tumor targeting, diagnostics, cellular imaging, and image-directed tumor ablation with excellent theranostic action [ 14 ]. In this context, nanoparticles penetrate the skin, reach the tumor microenvironment, and facilitate targeted drug delivery [ 12 ]. Thus, extensive research efforts have been employed in recent years to develop and functionalize novel and promising nanoparticles into unified methods for diagnosis and therapy, i.e., in theranostics, to treat different types of cancer, including skin cancer [ 12 , 15 ].…”

“…In this context, nanoparticles penetrate the skin, reach the tumor microenvironment, and facilitate targeted drug delivery [ 12 ]. Thus, extensive research efforts have been employed in recent years to develop and functionalize novel and promising nanoparticles into unified methods for diagnosis and therapy, i.e., in theranostics, to treat different types of cancer, including skin cancer [ 12 , 15 ].…”