The potential role of chitosan‐based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems in pancreatic cancer

• Published in: IUBMB life 2020-05, Vol.72 (5), p.872-883
• Main Authors: Sadoughi, Fatemeh, Mansournia, Mohammad Ali, Mirhashemi, Seyyed Mehdi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Chitosan; Chitosan - chemistry; Chitosan - metabolism; Drug Compounding; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - drug effects; Glycoconjugates - chemistry; Glycoconjugates - therapeutic use; Humans; Molecular Targeted Therapy; nanoparticle; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - metabolism; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology - methods; Neoplasm Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Neoplasm Proteins - genetics; Neoplasm Proteins - metabolism; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins - genetics; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins - metabolism; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Pancreatic Neoplasms - genetics; Pancreatic Neoplasms - mortality; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Pancreatic Neoplasms - therapy; Photochemotherapy; Photosensitizing Agents - chemistry; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Polymers; Survival; Survival Analysis; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism
• ISSN: 1521-6543; 1521-6551
• DOI: 10.1002/iub.2252

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal cancers and 12th most common cancer in the world. Due to the inaccessible anatomical position of the pancreas and asymptomatic early stages of this disease, PC has a high mortality rate. Therefore, providing reliable diagnostic and therapeutic tools are the keys to increase the PC survival rate. Nanotechnology is an inchoate field of science that previously scientists' tendency to enhance the efficacy of current preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods has oriented them to build a bridge between this science and medicine. In the case of PC, nanotechnology suggests using drug delivery devices for a more effective and targeted therapy. Chitosan is a natural polymer that recently has attracted a lot of attention for being renewable, nontoxic, and bioabsorbable. In this article, we tend to look for the answer to this question: has nanotechnology been successful in using chitosan‐based nanoformulations as carriers for preventing more individuals from suffering or at least increasing the 5‐year survival of the PC patients?