Ladju RB, Ulhaq ZS, Soraya GV. Nanotheranostics: A powerful next-generation solution to tackle hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2022; 28(2): 176-187 [PMID: 35110943 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i2.176]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Gita Vita Soraya, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Jl Perintis Kemerdekaan Km 10, Makassar 90245, Indonesia. gitavitasoraya@unhas.ac.id
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2022; 28(2): 176-187 Published online Jan 14, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i2.176
Nanotheranostics: A powerful next-generation solution to tackle hepatocellular carcinoma
Rusdina Bte Ladju, Zulvikar Syambani Ulhaq, Gita Vita Soraya
Rusdina Bte Ladju, Department of Anatomic Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
Zulvikar Syambani Ulhaq, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Maulana Malik Ibrahim Islamic State University, Malang 65151, Indonesia
Zulvikar Syambani Ulhaq, National Research and Innovation Agency, Central Jakarta 10340, Indonesia
Gita Vita Soraya, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
Gita Vita Soraya, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
Author contributions: Ulhaq ZS and Soraya GV conceptualized the manuscript; Ladju RB wrote the first draft of the manuscript; all authors conducted the literature review and the writing and editing of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gita Vita Soraya, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Jl Perintis Kemerdekaan Km 10, Makassar 90245, Indonesia. gitavitasoraya@unhas.ac.id
Received: March 18, 2021 Peer-review started: March 18, 2021 First decision: July 3, 2021 Revised: July 15, 2021 Accepted: December 31, 2021 Article in press: December 31, 2021 Published online: January 14, 2022
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an epidemic burden and remains highly prevalent worldwide. The significant mortality rates of HCC are largely due to the tendency of late diagnosis and the multifaceted, complex nature of treatment. Meanwhile, current therapeutic modalities such as liver resection and transplantation are only effective for resolving early-stage HCC. Hence, alternative approaches are required to improve detection and enhance the efficacy of current treatment options. Nanotheranostic platforms, which utilize biocompatible nanoparticles to perform both diagnostics and targeted delivery, has been considered a potential approach for cancer management in the past few decades. Advancement of nanomaterials and biomedical engineering techniques has led to rapid expansion of the nanotheranostics field, allowing for more sensitive and specific diagnosis, real-time monitoring of drug delivery, and enhanced treatment efficacies across various malignancies. The focus of this review is on the applications of nanotheranostics for HCC. The review first explores the current epidemiology and the commonly encountered obstacles in HCC diagnosis and treatment. It then presents the current technological and functional advancements in nanotheranostic technology for cancer in general, and then specifically explores the use of nanotheranostic modalities as a promising option to address the key challenges present in HCC management.
Core Tip: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global epidemic burden. The high mortality rate is mostly due to late diagnosis and complexity of treatment. Nanotheranostics is a potential approach for HCC management. We herein discuss the challenges of HCC management, the advancement of nanotheranostics in cancer, and the potential role of nanotheranostics to address the current challenges in HCC management.
