Drug formulation and nanomedicine approaches to targeting lymphatic cancer metastases.
Lymphatic metastasis plays an important role in cancer progression and prognosis. However, conventional small-molecule chemotherapy drugs inefficiently access the lymphatic system, making the effective eradication of lymphatic metastases difficult without dose-limiting toxicity. Various formulation and nanomedicine-based approaches can be used to significantly enhance the trafficking of small-molecule, peptide and protein drugs toward the lymphatic system to enhance drug exposure at sites of lymphatic cancer growth. However, a number of obstacles exist in translating improved lymphatic exposure into improved chemotherapeutic outcomes. This review highlights the opportunities and challenges inherent in employing formulation and nanomedicinal approaches to improve chemotherapeutic drug activity within the lymphatic system and, importantly, at sites of lymphatic cancer metastasis.
['Wang|Lili|L|', 'Subasic|Christopher|C|', 'Minchin|Rodney F|RF|', 'Kaminskas|Lisa M|LM|']
D000818:Animals D000970:Antineoplastic Agents D004339:Drug Compounding D006801:Humans D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis D008208:Lymphatic System D050997:Nanomedicine
formulation nanomedicine lymphatic cancer metastasis PEGylation drug delivery pharmacokinetics poly(ethylene glycol) prodrugs