Title:Nanomedicine in Pancreatic Cancer: A New Hope for Treatment
Volume: 21
Issue: 15
Author(s): Pablo Redruello, Gloria Perazzoli, Ana Cepero, Francisco Quiñonero, Cristina Mesas, Kevin Doello, Antonio Láinez-Ramos-Bossini, Mario Rivera-Izquierdo, Consolación Melguizo*Jose Prados
Affiliation:
- Institute of Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine (IBIMER), Center of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, 18100 Granada,Spain
Keywords:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, chemotherapeutic drugs, nanoparticles, drug resistance, clinical trials, gemcitabine.
Abstract: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has one of the worst prognosis and higher mortality
among most cancers. The diagnosis of PDA is frequently delayed due to a lack of specific biomarkers,
and the efficacy of current chemotherapeutic drugs is limited. Moreover, chemotherapy is
generally applied in advanced stages, where metastatic spread has already occurred. Nanotechnologybased
systems are allowing to advance in the diagnosis and treatment of PDA. New nanoformulations
have shown to improve the activity of conventional chemotherapeutic agents, such as gemcitabine,
and new antitumor drugs, protecting them from degradation, improving their selectivity, solubility and
bioavailability, and reducing their side effects. Moreover, the design of nanocarriers represents a new
way to overcome drug resistance, which requires a comprehensive understanding of the tumor microenvironment
of PDA. This article reviews the current perspectives, based on nanomedicine, to address
the limitations of pancreatic cancer treatment, and the futures lines of research to progress in the control
of this disease.