Recent developments in nanomedicine for melanoma treatment.
Melanoma is a most aggressive skin cancer with limited therapeutic options and its incidence is increasing rapidly in recent years. The discovery and application of new targeted therapy agents have shown significant benefits. However, adverse side-effects and resistance to chemotherapy remain formidable challenges in the clinical treatment of malignant melanoma. Nanotherapeutics offers an important prospect of overcoming these drawbacks. The anti-tumoral applications of nanomedicine are varied, including those in chemotherapy, RNA interference, photothermal therapy, and photodynamic therapy. Furthermore, nanomedicine allows delivery of the effector structures into the tumor site via passive or active targeting, thereby allowing increased therapeutic specificity and reduced side effects. In this review, we summarize the latest developments in the application of nanocarrier-mediated targeted drug delivery to melanoma and nanomedicine-related clinical trials in melanoma treatment. We also discuss existing problems and opportunities for future developments, providing direction and new thoughts for further studies.
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Jian-Qin
JQ
Tang
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Xiao-Yang
XY
Hou
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Huai'an, 223002, China.
Chun-Sheng
CS
Yang
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Ya-Xi
YX
Li
Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Yong
Y
Xin
Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Wen-Wen
WW
Guo
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Zhi-Ping
ZP
Wei
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Yan-Qun
YQ
Liu
Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.
Guan
0000-0002-0705-2386
G
Jiang
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers
RNA interference; melanoma; nanocarrier; nanomedicine; photodynamic therapy; photothermal therapy; targeting