Rational Design of Biomaterials to Potentiate Cancer Thermal Therapy

Abstract

Cancer thermal therapy, also known as hyperthermia therapy, has long been exploited to eradicate mass lesions that are now defined as cancer. With the development of corresponding technologies and equipment, local hyperthermia therapies such as radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, and high-intensity focused ultrasound, have has been validated to effectively ablate tumors in modern clinical practice. However, they still face many shortcomings, including nonspecific damages to adjacent normal tissues and incomplete ablation particularly for large tumors, restricting their wide clinical usage. Attributed to their versatile physiochemical properties, biomaterials have been specially designed to potentiate local hyperthermia treatments according to their unique working principles. Meanwhile, biomaterial-based delivery systems are able to bridge hyperthermia therapies with other types of treatment strategies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Therefore, in this review, we discuss recent progress in the development of functional biomaterials to reinforce local hyperthermia by functioning as thermal sensitizers to endow more efficient tumor-localized thermal ablation and/or as delivery vehicles to synergize with other therapeutic modalities for combined cancer treatments. Thereafter, we provide a critical perspective on the further development of biomaterial-assisted local hyperthermia toward clinical applications.

Swarming Multifunctional Heater–Thermometer Nanorobots for Precise Feedback Hyperthermia Delivery

“…In this way, it becomes possible to automatically monitor and adjust collective motions and treatment parameters of the HT-NRs in real time based on the received visual structural-color feedback, realizing automatic and precise motile-targeting feedback PTT. In addition, the photothermal conversion of the HT-NRs can be further enhanced by grafting highly efficient photothermal agents (e.g., polydopamine, polylactic acid, transition-metal chalcogenides, and Au nanoparticles) onto the nanorobot surface or embedding them in their hydrogel matrix, 68 thereby reducing the required NIR power density while enhancing the efficacy of PTT.…”

Functional anti-bone tumor biomaterial scaffold: construction and application

“…around 48 1C, the major type of cell death changes from apoptosis to necrosis. 56 However, tumor blood vessels are often unorganized and dysfunctional. Leaky tumor vessels and low blood flow are found in tumor tissues compared to normal vessels of normal tissues, meaning that tumors cannot diffuse heat by increasing blood flow during hyperthermia treatment.…”

“…According to the previous findings, cells undergo apoptosis within the temperature range 42–46 °C. 56 While above a certain threshold temperature, i.e. around 48 °C, the major type of cell death changes from apoptosis to necrosis.…”

“…206 Magnetic hyperthermia has been utilized to selectively elevate temperature to ablate tumors throughout the last decade as a viable non-invasive therapy. 56 Magnetic hyperthermia has been utilized to transform electromagnetic energy into thermal energy in an external AMF throughout the last decade as a potential noninvasive therapy, selectively boosting the temperature to ablate tumors. To work with MH ablation and OS treatment, Liang et al created a multi-functional bone cement filled with nano-Fe 3 O 4 and the anticancer medication doxorubicin (DOX/Fe 3 O 4 @PMMA).…”

“…Hyperthermia, which is an effective clinical approach to treat some malignant tumors by raising the local temperature to nearly 44 °C, after which some tumor cells could be significantly damaged through protein denaturation and cell membrane rupture. 56 In addition, it is capable of enhancing efficacy by other therapeutic means ( e.g. radiotherapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy) through increasing perfusion and blood flow inside the tumor tissue.…”