Liposome based delivery systems in pancreatic cancer treatment: from bench to bedside.

Abstract

Despite rapid advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most difficult human malignancies to be treated, with a mortality rate nearly equal to its incidence. Although gemcitabine has been established as the standard first-line treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer, gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy showed either marginal or no improvement in survival. Developments in liposomal delivery systems have facilitated the targeting of specific agents for cancer treatment. Such systems could be developed as platforms for future multi-functional theranostic nanodevices tailor-made for the combined detection of early cancer and functional drug delivery. We systemically review liposome based drug-delivery systems, which can provide improved pharmacokinetics, reduced side effects and potentially increased tumor uptake, for pancreatic cancer therapy. Novel liposomal formulations allowing for higher tumor targeting efficiencies and used in current clinical trials to treat this challenging disease are emphasized.

• Authors: Feng Yang, Chen Jin, Yongjian Jiang, Ji Li, Yang Di, Quanxing Ni, Deliang Fu
• Journal: Cancer treatment reviews (Cancer Treat Rev) Vol. 37 Issue 8 Pg. 633-42 (Dec 2011) ISSN: 1532-1967 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 21330062 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Liposomes

Topics

• Antineoplastic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Humans
• Liposomes (administration & dosage)
• Pancreatic Neoplasms (drug therapy)