title: Quantum dot nanoparticle for optimization of breast cancer diagnostics and therapy in a clinical setting.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is used for staging of axillary lymph nodes. Organic dyes and radiocolloid are currently used for SLN mapping, but expose patients to ionizing radiation, are unstable during surgery and cause local tissue damage. Quantum dots (QD) could be used for SLN mapping without the need for biopsy. Surgical resection of the primary tumor is the optimal treatment for early-diagnosed breast cancer, but due to difficulties in defining tumor margins, cancer cells often remain leading to reoccurrences. Functionalized QD could be used for image-guided tumor resection to allow visualization of cancer cells. Near Infrared QD are photostable and have improved deep tissue penetration. Slow elimination of QD raises concerns of potential accumulation. Nevertheless, promising findings with cadmium-free QD in recent in vivo studies and first in-human trial suggest huge potential for cancer diagnostic and therapy.
authors.affiliation: UCL Medical School, University College London (UCL), London, UK.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radenkovic
authors.affiliation: Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, USA.
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: NanoRegMed Ltd, London BioScience Innovation Centre, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ernö
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Remsey-Semmelweis
authors.affiliation: UCL Medical School, University College London (UCL), London, UK; NanoRegMed Ltd, London BioScience Innovation Centre, London, UK. Electronic address: a.seifalian@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Seifalian
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D053758:Nanoparticles; D045663:Quantum Dots; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer imaging; Image-guided surgery; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Quantum dots