Revisiting the 'One Material Fits All' Rule for Cancer Nanotherapy.
The promise of (nano)biomaterials for the treatment of cancer can only be realized following a comprehensive scrutiny of the tumor microenvironment. The generic use of 'inert' vehicles that deliver a specific cargo to treat a range of cancer types and disease states obeys the 'one material fits all' rule. However, this approach leads to suboptimal and unpredictable clinical outcomes. The key factors constructing the tumor milieu should guide the design of disease-responsive materials. Given the growing availability of nanomaterials for cancer therapy, a material that responds to each patient's needs and, hence, reacts in a graded manner based on disease cues, would pave the way to precision materials for cancer therapy.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Cambridge, MA, USA; School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. Electronic address: jdconde@mit.edu.
João
J
Conde
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nuria
N
Oliva
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: nartzi@mit.edu.
Natalie
N
Artzi
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000187:drug effects*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents