Title:Exploring Nanoemulsion for Liver Cancer Therapy
Volume: 16
Issue: 4
Author(s): Tanmay Upadhyay, Vaseem A. Ansari*, Usama Ahmad, Nazneen Sultana and Juber Akhtar
Affiliation:
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Integral University, Lucknow-226026,India
Keywords:
Nanoemulsion, liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, drug delivery, immunotherapy, chemotherapy.
Abstract: Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for 8.8 million deaths in
2015. Among these, at least 0.78 million people died of liver cancer alone. The recognized risk
factors for liver cancer include chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection,
exposure to dietary aflatoxin, fatty liver disease, alcohol-induced cirrhosis, obesity, smoking,
diabetes, and iron overload. The treatment plan for early diagnosed patients includes radiation
therapy, tumour ablation, surgery, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Some sort of drug delivery
vehicles has to be used when the treatment plan is targeted chemotherapy. Nanoemulsions are a
class of biphasic liquid dosage form which are mixtures of oil and water stabilized by a surfactant.
They are either transparent or bluish in hue and serve as a wonderful carrier system for chemotherapeutic
drugs. These vehicles have a particle size in the range of 20-200 nm allowing them
to be delivered successfully in the deepest of tissues. Recent publications on nanoemulsions
reveal their acceptance and a popular choice for delivering both synthetic and herbal drugs to the
liver. This work focuses on some anti-cancer agents that utilized the advantages of nanoemulsion
for liver cancer therapy.