Nanocarrier-Based Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death. It is an abnormal and uncontrollable proliferation of cells. The main reason for its unrestrained ability is that it can spread to other tissues and organs. The treatment of the disease is confined to radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, though these treatments have not proven to be successful in the complete eradication of disease. Nanotechnology has recently established its significance in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Nanoparticle-based therapies using nanocarriers have shown great potential in oncotherapy. These nanocarriers are made via the breakdown of larger particles in controlled assembly processes. A nanocarrier-based drug-delivery system enables a tissue-targeted approach with a broad range of properties. This is much more effective than conventional drug-delivery therapies due to the carriers’ minute size, large surface area, improved efficacy, low side effects and high stability. Drugs enclosed in nanocarriers that easily pass into the circulatory system destroy cancerous cells. The mechanism also increases the half-life of drugs and their retention level. Many nanocarriers are available, such as nanocapsules; polymeric nanocarriers; lipid nanoparticles; carbon nanotubes; metallic, magnetic, dendrimers, micelles, or peptide nanoparticles; gold nanoparticles; liposomes; and quantum dots, and all of them have potential uses in oncotherapy and diagnosing cancer. This chapter summarises the roles of various nanocarriers’ drug-delivery systems and their immunotherapies for cancer treatment, and it discusses the therapeutic potential of nanoparticle-based approaches in fighting against drug resistance. This also aids in overcoming challenges in the development and optimisation of nanocarriers and their prospects.