International Journal of Nanomedicine (Feb 2021)
Nanosized Drug Delivery Systems for Breast Cancer Stem Cell Targeting
Abstract
Li Lv,1 Yonghui Shi,1,2 Junyan Wu,1 Guocheng Li1,3 1Department of Pharmacy, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, Zengcheng District People’s Hospital of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, 511300, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Junyan Wu; Guocheng LiDepartment of Pharmacy, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 107 Yanjiangxi Road, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 20-81332367; +86 20-81332451Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), also known as breast cancer initiating cells, are reported to be responsible for the initiation, progression, therapeutic resistance, and relapse of breast cancer. Conventional therapeutic agents mainly kill the bulk of breast tumor cells and fail to eliminate BCSCs, even enhancing the fraction of BCSCs in breast tumors sometimes. Therefore, it is essential to develop specific and effective methods of eliminating BCSCs that will enhance the efficacy of killing breast tumor cells and thereby, increase the survival rates and quality of life of breast cancer patients. Despite the availability of an increasing number of anti-BCSC agents, their clinical translations are hindered by many issues, such as instability, low bioavailability, and off-target effects. Nanosized drug delivery systems (NDDSs) have the potential to overcome the drawbacks of anti-BCSC agents by providing site-specific delivery and enhancing of the stability and bioavailability of the delivered agents. In this review, we first briefly introduce the strategies and agents used against BCSCs and then highlight the mechanism of action and therapeutic efficacy of several state-of-the-art NDDSs that can be used to treat breast cancer by eliminating BCSCs.Keywords: breast cancer stem cells, nanosized drug delivery systems, BCSCs, NDDSs, surface markers, signaling pathway, target
