Remotely-controlled hydrogel platforms for recurrent cancer therapy

• Published in: Journal of drug delivery science and technology 2023-04, Vol.82, p.104354, Article 104354
• Main Authors: Dadashi, Hamed, Eskandani, Morteza, Roshangar, Leila, Sharifi-Azad, Masoumeh, Shahpouri, Mohammad, Cho, William C., Jahanban-Esfahlan, Rana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer recurrence; Combination therapy; Hydrogel; Remotely-control
• ISSN: 1773-2247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2023.104354

As an effective and first-line curative approach for cancer patients, surgery has long been used, however, one of its major challenges is the risk of tumor recurrence. Hydrogels are biocompatible and biodegradable polymers that can be synthesized to be responsive to internal or external stimuli. To this end, several therapeutic strategies including photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, magnetic hyperthermia, and sonodynamic therapy employ external stimuli such as heat, light, alternating magnetic field, or ultrasound, respectively, to promote gel–sol transition and controlled hydrogel network dissociation for controlled drug release. Additionally, a promising approach is to combine treatment methods, such as photothermal therapy and chemotherapy, to achieve synergistic treatment efficiency, and prevent post-surgical recurrence of tumors. Likewise, using remotely controlled hydrogels may provide minimally invasive therapeutic platforms while they exhibit a high efficacy as well as on-demand therapy. Herein, we review the formats and verity of externally/remotely-controlled hydrogels for solid cancer therapy. The significance of these hydrogels in studies of relevant combination therapies, cancer theranostics, and the potential for on-demand drug release is highlighted. Finally, the potential of remotely controlled hydrogel-based therapies, especially multimodal systems, for the prevention of post-surgery tumor recurrence and surgical tissue regeneration is discussed. [Display omitted]