Potential applications of nanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Despite improvements in our understanding of pancreatic cancer and the emerging concept of personalized medicine for the treatment of this disease, it is still the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the western world. It is established that pancreatic cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease with a complex tumor microenvironment. Indeed the extensive stroma surrounding the cancer cells has been shown to be important in promoting tumor growth and metastases, as well as sequestering chemotherapeutic agents consequently decreasing delivery to the tumor cells. Nanotechnology has come to the forefront in the areas of medical diagnostics, imaging, and therapeutic drug delivery. This review will focus on the potential applications of nanotechnology for diagnosis, imaging, and delivery of therapeutic agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Tumor Biology and Targeting Program, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Children's Cancer Institute Australia, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Joshua
J
McCarroll
Tumor Biology and Targeting Program, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Children's Cancer Institute Australia, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Panceatic Cancer Translational Research Group, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Joann
J
Teo
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Cyrille
C
Boyer
Panceatic Cancer Translational Research Group, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
David
D
Goldstein
Tumor Biology and Targeting Program, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Children's Cancer Institute Australia, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Maria
M
Kavallaris
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Panceatic Cancer Translational Research Group, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Phoebe A
PA
Phillips
molecular imaging; nano-diagnostics; nanotechnology; pancreatic cancer; therapeutic drug delivery; tumor stroma