Dataset Information

Perspectives on the application of nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

ABSTRACT: Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and has been traditionally considered difficult to treat. The worldwide incidence of melanoma has been increasing faster than any other type of cancer. Early detection, surgery, and adjuvant therapy enable improved outcomes; nonetheless, the prognosis of metastatic melanoma remains poor. Several therapies have been investigated for the treatment of melanoma; however, current treatment options for patients with metastatic disease are limited and non-curative in the majority of cases. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been proposed as a promising minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that employs three essential elements to induce cell death: a photosensitizer, light of a specific wavelength, and molecular oxygen. However, classical PDT has shown some drawbacks that limit its clinical application. In view of this, the use of nanotechnology has been considered since it provides many tools that can be applied to PDT to circumvent these limitations and bring new perspectives for the application of this therapy for different types of diseases. On that ground, this review focuses on the potential use of developing nanotechnologies able to bring significant benefits for anticancer PDT, aiming to reach higher efficacy and safety for patients with malignant melanoma.

SUBMITTER: Monge-Fuentes V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4152551 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Perspectives on the application of nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

Monge-Fuentes Victoria V Muehlmann Luis Alexandre LA de Azevedo Ricardo Bentes RB

Nano reviews 20140901

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and has been traditionally considered difficult to treat. The worldwide incidence of melanoma has been increasing faster than any other type of cancer. Early detection, surgery, and adjuvant therapy enable improved outcomes; nonetheless, the prognosis of metastatic melanoma remains poor. Several therapies have been investigated for the treatment of melanoma; however, current treatment options for patients with metastatic disease are l ...[more]

PMID: 25317253

Similar Datasets

Project description:This review article is based on specifically targeted nanoparticles that have been used in the treatment of melanoma. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, within 2017 an estimated 9730 people will die due to invasive melanoma. Conventional treatments for nonmalignant melanoma include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. For the treatment of metastatic melanoma, 3 therapeutic agents have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration: dacarbazine, recombinant interferon ?-2b, and high-dose interleukin 2. Photodynamic therapy is an alternative therapy that activates a photosensitizer at a specific wavelength forming reactive oxygen species which in turn induces cell death; it is noninvasive with far less side effects when compared to conventional treatments. Nanoparticles are generally conjugated to photosynthetic drugs, since they are biocompatible, stabile, and durable, as well as have a high loading capacity, which improve either passive or active photosensitizer drug delivery to targeted cells. Therefore, various photosynthetic drugs and nanoparticle drug delivery systems specifically targeted for melanoma were analyzed in this review article in relation to either their passive or their active cellular uptake mechanisms in order to deduce the efficacy of photodynamic therapy treatment for metastatic melanoma which currently remains ongoing. The overall findings from this review concluded that no current photodynamic therapy studies have been performed in relation to active nanoparticle platform photosensitizer drug carrier systems for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, and so this type of research requires further investigation into developing a more efficient active nano-photosensitizer carrier smart drug that can be conjugated to specific cell surface receptors and combinative monoclonal antibodies so that a further enhanced and more efficient form of targeted photodynamic therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma can be established.

Dataset Information

Perspectives on the application of nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

Publications

Perspectives on the application of nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets