title: Nanomedicine applied to translational oncology: A future perspective on cancer treatment.
abstract: The high global incidence of cancer is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity worldwide. By taking advantage of the properties of matter at the nanoscale, nanomedicine promises to develop innovative drugs with greater efficacy and less side effects than standard therapies. Here, we discuss both clinically available anti-cancer nanomedicines and those en route to future clinical application. The properties, therapeutic value, advantages and limitations of these nanomedicine products are highlighted, with a focus on their increased performance versus conventional molecular anticancer therapies. The main regulatory challenges toward the translation of innovative, clinically effective nanotherapeutics are discussed, with a view to improving current approaches to the clinical management of cancer. Ultimately, it becomes clear that the critical steps for clinical translation of nanotherapeutics require further interdisciplinary and international effort, where the whole stakeholder community is involved from bench to bedside. From the Clinical Editor: Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and finding a cure remains the holy-grail for many researchers and clinicians. The advance in nanotechnology has enabled novel strategies to develop in terms of cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this concise review article, the authors described current capabilities in this field and outlined comparisons with existing drugs. The difficulties in bringing new drugs to the clinics were also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bregoli
authors.affiliation: AMBER Centre and CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Dania
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Movia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gavigan-Imedio
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lysaght
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 8, Ireland; AMBER Centre and CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. Electronic address: prinamea@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Adriele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prina-Mello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017277:Drug Approval; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000639:trends*; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000639:trends*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Cancer therapeutics; Nanodrug design; Nanomedicine; Nanomedicine regulation; Translational oncology