Personalized nanomedicine: future medicine for cancer treatment

Personalized nanomedicine: future medicine for cancer treatment Editorial (3335) Total Article Views Authors: Shiekh FA Published Date January 2013 Volume 2013:8 Pages 201 - 202 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S41525 Received: 12 December 2012 Accepted: 13 December 2012 Published: 09 January 2013 Farooq A Shiekh Avalon University School of Medicine, Willemstad, Curacao Cancer as a grave disease is becoming a larger health problem,1 and the medicines used as treatments have clear limitations.2–4 Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, all of which are drastic treatments, wreak havoc on healthy cells and tissues as well as cancerous ones.5–7 Pathophysiologically, there are more than 200 types of cancers,8,9 each with many variants.10 Some are aggressive, some are not; some are easily treated, and others are always fatal.11 Unlike previous "revolutions" in the "war" on cancer that raised hope, nanomedicine is not just one more tool, it is an entire field, and the science in this area is burgeoning, and benefiting from use of modern cutting edge molecular tools.12–14 These breakthrough advancements have radically changed the perception of future medicine. Importantly, they are enabling landmark research to combine all advances, creating nanosized particles that contain drugs targeting cell surface receptors and other potent molecules designed to kill cancerous cells.15–19 If there is a case to be made for personalized medicine, cancer is it. For example, the current literature reveals the need for a great scientific effort to be made in this field.20–22 However, new paradigms are needed to interpret toxicogenomic and nanotoxicological data in order to predict drug toxicities and gain a more indepth understanding of the mechanisms of toxicity, so that more specific therapeutic targets which are essentially devoid of side effects could be selected.23,24 Post to: Cannotea Citeulike Del.icio.us Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Other articles by Dr Farooq A. Shiekh Blood–brain barrier: a real obstacle for therapeutics Do calcifying nanoparticles really contain 16S rDNA? Readers of this article also read: Fungus-mediated biological synthesis of gold nanoparticles: potential in detection of liver cancer Molecular targeting of liposomal nanoparticles to tumor microenvironment Novel resveratrol nanodelivery systems based on lipid nanoparticles to enhance its oral bioavailability Oxidative stress contributes to cobalt oxide nanoparticles-induced cytotoxicity and DNA damage in human hepatocarcinoma cells Nanodiamonds as novel nanomaterials for biomedical applications: drug delivery and imaging systems Effects of a hybrid micro/nanorod topography-modified titanium implant on adhesion and osteogenic differentiation in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells Intracellular delivery of doxorubicin encapsulated in novel pH-responsive chitosan/heparin nanocapsules Design, physicochemical characterization, and optimization of organic solution advanced spray-dried inhalable