Nanoformulations in the treatment of lung cancer: current status and clinical potential

Objective: Recent developments in nanotechnology have regained hope in enabling the eradication of lung cancer, while overcoming the drawbacks of the classic therapeutics. Nevertheless, there are still formidable obstacles that hinder the translation of such platforms from the bench into the clinic. Herein, we shed light on the clinical potential of these formulations and discuss their future directions.

Significance of review: The current article sheds light on the recent advancements in the recruitment of nanoformulations against lung cancer, focusing on their unique features, merits, and demerits. Moreover, inorganic nanoparticles, including gold, silver, magnetic, and carbon nanotubes are highlighted as emerging drug delivery technologies. Furthermore, the clinical status of these formulations is discussed, with particular attention on the challenges that they encounter in their clinical translation. Lastly, the future perspectives in this promising area are inspired.

Key findings: Nanoformulations have a promising potential in improving the physico-chemical properties, pharmacokinetics, delivery efficiency, and selectivity of lung cancer therapeutics. The key challenges that encounter their clinical translation include their structural intricacy, high production cost, scale-up issues, and unclear toxicity profiles. The application of biodegradable platforms improves the biosafety of lung cancer-targeted nanomedicine. Moreover, the design of novel targeting strategies that apply a lower number of components can promote their industrial scalability and deliver them to the market at affordable prices.

Conclusions: Nanomedicines have opened up new possibilities for treating lung cancer. Focusing on tackling the challenges that hinder their clinical translation will promote the future of this area of endeavor.