title: Recent advances in targeted nanoparticles drug delivery to melanoma.
abstract: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers, notorious for its high multidrug resistance and low survival rate. Conventional therapies (e.g., dacarbazine, interferon-alpha-2b and interleukin-2) are limited by low response rate and demonstrate no overall survival benefit. Novel targeted therapies (e.g., vemurafenib, dabrafenib and trametinib) have higher initial response rate and clear impact on the overall survival, but relapse usually occurs within 6 to 9 months. Although immunotherapy (e.g., ipilimumab, pembrolizumab and nivolumab) can achieve long-term and durable response, rate of adverse events is extremely high. With the development of nanotechnology, the applications of nanocarriers are widely expected to change the landscape of melanoma therapy for foreseeable future. In this review, we will relate recent advances in the application of multifunctional nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery to melanoma, in melanoma nanotheranostics and combination therapy, and nanopharmaceutical associated melanoma clinical trials, followed by challenges and perspectives. From the clinical editor: The team of authors describes the current treatment regimes of malignant melanoma emphasizing the importance of achieving a better efficacy and the need to develop a better understanding of melanoma tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, PR China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, PR China.
authors.forename: Yujue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and National Engineering Center for Nanomedicine, HUST, Wuhan 430074, PR China.
authors.forename: Ruijing
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiangjie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and National Engineering Center for Nanomedicine, HUST, Wuhan 430074, PR China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Tongji Medical College, HUST, Wuhan 430030, PR China.
authors.forename: Guanxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, PR China.
authors.forename: Yating
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and National Engineering Center for Nanomedicine, HUST, Wuhan 430074, PR China. Electronic address: jtzhu@mail.hust.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jintao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, PR China. Electronic address: tjhappy@126.com.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers
keywords: Drug delivery; Melanoma; Nanoparticles; Nanotheranostics; Targeting