Colloidal Nanocarriers as Versatile Targeted Delivery Systems for Cervical Cancer
Background:
The second most common malignant cancer of the uterus is cervical cancer, which is
present worldwide, has a rising death rate and is predominant in developing countries. Different classes of anticancer
agents are used to treat cervical carcinoma. The use of these agents results in severe untoward side-effects,
toxicity, and multidrug resistance (MDR) with higher chances of recurrence and spread beyond the pelvic region.
Moreover, the resulting clinical outcome remains very poor even after surgical procedures and treatment with
conventional chemotherapy. Because of the nonspecificity of their use, the agents wipe out both cancerous and
normal tissues. Colloidal nano dispersions have now been focusing on site-specific delivery for cervical cancer,
and there has been much advancement.
Methods:
This review aims to highlight the problems in the current treatment of cervical cancer and explore the
potential of colloidal nanocarriers for selective delivery of anticancer drugs using available literature.
Results:
In this study, we surveyed the role and potential of different colloidal nanocarriers in cervical cancer,
such as nanoemulsion, nanodispersions, polymeric nanoparticles, and metallic nanoparticles and photothermal
and photodynamic therapy. We found significant advancement in colloidal nanocarrier-based cervical cancer
treatment.
Conclusion:
Cervical cancer-targeted treatment with colloidal nanocarriers would hopefully result in minimal
toxic side effects, reduced dosage frequency, and lower MDR incidence and enhance the patient survival rates.
The future direction of the study should be focused more on the regulatory barrier of nanocarriers based on clinical
outcomes for cervical cancer targeting with cost-effective analysis.
