NANOPARTICLES AS EMERGING DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS IN LIQUID TUMOURS

Abstract

Nanotechnology has become an important approach to improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer; advances in this area have made it possible to use various materials to detect cancers in the early stages. Materials at the nanoscale have unique physical, optical, and electrical properties that are useful for cancer detection. Nanoparticles, alongside the discovery of several biomarkers, made it possible to reduce the detection limit of cancer biomarkers and this breakthrough provided the possibility of new methodologies for diagnosis with simple and non-invasive approaches. Haematological malignancies such as leukaemia and lymphoma represent a specific class of cancer that attract special attention in this area of diagnoses. The aim of this review is to elucidate the applications of nanotechnology for these types of cancer and the potentialities of nanotechnology for the diagnosis of haematological malignancies. When combined onto a single nanomaterial (an approach known as nanotheranostics), these platforms may revolutionise the way we tackle liquid tumours, as well as providing innovative tools for precision oncology, diagnostics, and follow-up therapy and disease management.

Keywords

• circulating tumour cells
• circulating tumour dna (ctdna)
• exosomes
• leukaemia
• liquid tumours
• lymphoma
• nanomedicine
• nanoparticles