Tumor Ablation and Nanotechnology

Abstract

Next to surgical resection, tumor ablation is a commonly used intervention in the treatment of solid tumors. Tumor ablation methods include thermal therapies, photodynamic therapy, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) producing agents. Thermal therapies induce tumor cell death via thermal energy and include radiofrequency, microwave, high intensity focused ultrasound, and cryoablation. Photodynamic therapy and ROS producing agents cause increased oxidative stress in tumor cells leading to apoptosis. While these therapies are safe and viable alternatives when resection of malignancies is not feasible, they do have associated limitations that prevent their widespread use in clinical applications. To improve the efficacy of these treatments, nanoparticles are being studied in combination with nonsurgical ablation regimens. In addition to better thermal effect on tumor ablation, nanoparticles can deliver anticancer therapeutics that show synergistic anti-tumor effect in the presence of heat and can also be imaged to achieve precision in therapy. Understanding the molecular mechanism of nanoparticle-mediated tumor ablation could further help engineer nanoparticles of appropriate composition and properties to synergize the ablation effect. This review aims to explore the various types of nonsurgical tumor ablation methods currently used in cancer treatment and potential improvements by nanotechnology applications.

A phthalocyanine-fluorescein conjugate

“…The benzene moiety was almost perpendicular to the xanthene moiety. The dihedral angle between the 2 extended aromatic ring systems is 66.40 (2) • and comparable to that observed for p -methoxycarbonylphenyl fluorone (64.9(2) • ). Bond lengths and angles may be regarded as normal.…”

A histological evaluation and in vivo assessment of intratumoral near infrared photothermal nanotherapy-induced tumor regression

“…27,34 NIR PTT has an advantage over other local therapies because it provides compounding specificity to the tumor and its margin, and a controlled depth of penetration. 35,36 The therapeutic properties of PTT have been clearly demonstrated in vitro. 19,37,38 However, the success PTT has realized in vitro has yet to be achieved in vivo, because many prior approaches have relied on the passive delivery of untargeted nanoparticles (NPs) to the tumor.…”

Controlling silica coating thickness on TiO2 nanoparticles for effective photodynamic therapy

“…TiO 2 nanoparticles also have been regarded as a potential photosensitizing agent for photodynamic therapy (PDT) [2][3][4][5]. The ROS generated from the photoexcited TiO 2 nanoparticles can react with cell membranes and cell interiors, leading to toxic responses and/or death of cells [6]. Many investigations on photodecomposition of tumour cells have been undertaken recently.…”