Nanomedicine and Hyperthermia for the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The incidence of gastrointestinal cancers has increased in recent years. Current treatments present numerous challenges, including drug resistance, non-specificity, and severe side effects, needing the exploration of new therapeutic strategies. One promising avenue is the use of magnetic nanoparticles, which have gained considerable interest due to their ability to generate heat in tumor regions upon the application of an external alternating magnetic field, a process known as hyperthermia. This review conducted a systematic search of in vitro and in vivo studies published in the last decade that employ hyperthermia therapy mediated by magnetic nanoparticles for treating gastrointestinal cancers. After applying various inclusion and exclusion criteria (studies in the last 10 years where hyperthermia using alternative magnetic field is applied), a total of 40 articles were analyzed. The results revealed that iron oxide is the preferred material for magnetism generation in the nanoparticles, and colorectal cancer is the most studied gastrointestinal cancer. Interestingly, novel therapies employing nanoparticles loaded with chemotherapeutic drugs in combination with magnetic hyperthermia demonstrated an excellent antitumor effect. In conclusion, hyperthermia treatments mediated by magnetic nanoparticles appear to be an effective approach for the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, offering advantages over traditional therapies.

Iron oxide nanoparticles for treatment and diagnosis of chronic inflammatory diseases: A systematic review

“…The role of inflammation in initiating and progressing cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis, is pivotal. The chronic inflammatory state associated with atherosclerosis can lead to severe events such as myocardial infarction and stroke (Gago et al, 2023). Among the selected articles, the majority ( n = 14) focused on investigating cardiovascular inflammatory disorders (Table 1).…”

Plant-Mediated Inorganic Nanoparticles for Anti-Tumor Therapy in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review

“…This is because part of their generation is based on the reduction of metal ions, which can be carried out through biological materials such as plant-derived extracts [45]. In addition, these formulations base their cytotoxic effect on different mechanisms, including the release of the drug, possible application of hyperthermia, pharmacological release through pH variations, or possible radiation-mediated release [46,47]. In one of the studies included in this review, Yusefi et al (2021) developed iron oxide nanoparticles that possessed magnetic capabilities, which allowed the application of in vitro hyperthermia, and obtained interesting results that could be generalized to other types of formulations through the encapsulation of small magnetite nanoparticles, a ferric mineral with great superparamagnetic capabilities [43].…”

Nanoparticle-Mediated Hyperthermia and Cytotoxicity Mechanisms in Cancer

“…The application of HTT in tissues generates a series of physiological cell changes, creating a favorable environment for the application of traditional cancer treatments. More specifically, tumor cells become more permeable to drugs [ 20 ] due to alterations in membrane properties, such as fluidity [ 21 ]. Furthermore, the intracellular levels of ions, such as Ca 2+ , Na + , K + and Mg 2+ , are modified [ 22 ], resulting in the promotion of cell death signaling.…”