TY - JOUR
T1 - Electrochemotherapy of deep-seated tumors
T2 - State of art and perspectives as possible “epr effect enhancer” to improve cancer nanomedicine efficacy
AU - Bonferoni, Maria Cristina
AU - Rassu, Giovanna
AU - Gavini, Elisabetta
AU - Sorrenti, Milena
AU - Catenacci, Laura
AU - Torre, Maria Luisa
AU - Perteghella, Sara
AU - Ansaloni, Luca
AU - Maestri, Marcello
AU - Giunchedi, Paolo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Surgical resection is the gold standard for the treatment of many kinds of tumor, but its success depends on the early diagnosis and the absence of metastases. However, many deep-seated tumors (liver, pancreas, for example) are often unresectable at the time of diagnosis. Chemother-apies and radiotherapies are a second line for cancer treatment. The “enhanced permeability and retention” (EPR) effect is believed to play a fundamental role in the passive uptake of drug-loaded nanocarriers, for example polymeric nanoparticles, in deep-seated tumors. However, criticisms of the EPR effect were recently raised, particularly in advanced human cancers: obstructed blood vessels and suppressed blood flow determine a heterogeneity of the EPR effect, with negative consequences on nanocarrier accumulation, retention, and intratumoral distribution. Therefore, to improve the nanomedicine uptake, there is a strong need for “EPR enhancers”. Electrochemotherapy represents an important tool for the treatment of deep-seated tumors, usually combined with the systemic (intravenous) administration of anticancer drugs, such as bleomycin or cisplatin. A possible new strategy, worthy of investigation, could be the use of this technique as an “EPR enhancer” of a target tumor, combined with the intratumoral administration of drug-loaded nanoparticles. This is a general overview of the rational basis for which EP could be envisaged as an “EPR enhancer” in nanomedicine.
AB - Surgical resection is the gold standard for the treatment of many kinds of tumor, but its success depends on the early diagnosis and the absence of metastases. However, many deep-seated tumors (liver, pancreas, for example) are often unresectable at the time of diagnosis. Chemother-apies and radiotherapies are a second line for cancer treatment. The “enhanced permeability and retention” (EPR) effect is believed to play a fundamental role in the passive uptake of drug-loaded nanocarriers, for example polymeric nanoparticles, in deep-seated tumors. However, criticisms of the EPR effect were recently raised, particularly in advanced human cancers: obstructed blood vessels and suppressed blood flow determine a heterogeneity of the EPR effect, with negative consequences on nanocarrier accumulation, retention, and intratumoral distribution. Therefore, to improve the nanomedicine uptake, there is a strong need for “EPR enhancers”. Electrochemotherapy represents an important tool for the treatment of deep-seated tumors, usually combined with the systemic (intravenous) administration of anticancer drugs, such as bleomycin or cisplatin. A possible new strategy, worthy of investigation, could be the use of this technique as an “EPR enhancer” of a target tumor, combined with the intratumoral administration of drug-loaded nanoparticles. This is a general overview of the rational basis for which EP could be envisaged as an “EPR enhancer” in nanomedicine.
KW - Bleomycin
KW - Cancer nanomedicine
KW - Cisplatin
KW - Deep-seated tumors
KW - EPR effect
KW - EPR enhancer
KW - Electrochemotherapy
KW - Electroporation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114263162&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/cancers13174437
DO - 10.3390/cancers13174437
M3 - Review article
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 13
JO - Cancers
JF - Cancers
IS - 17
M1 - 4437
ER -