Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems and Anticancer Drugs

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 23; no. 4; p. 907
• Main Authors: Olusanya, Temidayo O B, Haj Ahmad, Rita Rushdi, Ibegbu, Daniel M, Smith, James R, Elkordy, Amal Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14-04-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; anticancer drugs; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Body weight; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Chemotherapy; Cytotoxicity; Drug Compounding; Drug delivery; Drug Delivery Systems; Drugs; Environmental factors; Genetics; Humans; Liposomes; Meat; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Radiation; Radiation therapy; Review; Side effects; Smoking; Solid tumors; Surgery; Tumors; liposomes; anticancer drugs; drug delivery
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules23040907

Cancer is a life-threatening disease contributing to ~3.4 million deaths worldwide. There are various causes of cancer, such as smoking, being overweight or obese, intake of processed meat, radiation, family history, stress, environmental factors, and chance. The first-line treatment of cancer is the surgical removal of solid tumours, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The systemic administration of the free drug is considered to be the main clinical failure of chemotherapy in cancer treatment, as limited drug concentration reaches the tumour site. Most of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in chemotherapy are highly cytotoxic to both cancer and normal cells. Accordingly, targeting the tumour vasculatures is essential for tumour treatment. In this context, encapsulation of anti-cancer drugs within the liposomal system offers secure platforms for the targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs for the treatment of cancer. This, in turn, can be helpful for reducing the cytotoxic side effects of anti-cancer drugs on normal cells. This short-review focuses on the use of liposomes in anti-cancer drug delivery.