Open Access

REVIEW

The Interface of Cancer, Their Microenvironment and Nanotechnology

Natalia Roque^1,#, Diana Matias^2,#, Joana Balça-Silva³, Valéria Pereira Ferrer⁴, Luciana Santos Pessoa¹, Tania Cristina Leite de Sampaio e Spohr^1,5,*

1 Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer (IECPN)-Secretaria de Estado de Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, 20231-092, Brazil
2 Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK
3 NOVA Medical School-Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (NMS|FCM), Coimbra, 1169-056, Portugal
4 Fluminense Federal University, Campus do Gragoatá, Niterói, 24210-200, Brazil
5 Centogene GmbH. Am Strande 7, Rostock, PLZ 18055, Germany

* Corresponding Author: Tania Cristina Leite de Sampaio e Spohr. Email:
# Natalia Roque and Diana Matias contributed equally to this review

Oncologie 2022, 24(3), 371-411. https://doi.org/10.32604/oncologie.2022.024035

Received 22 May 2022; Accepted 19 August 2022; Issue published 19 September 2022

Abstract

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases with a cure far from being found. Despite the extraordinary advances in the therapy approaches, only a few patients respond to treatments. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in cancer progression by contributing to the chemoresistance. Thus, emerging efforts are being made in nanotechnology research focusing on nanoparticles’ potential role and their application in immune system modulation. Moreover, the omics have contributed to bioengineering and nanotechnology development by elucidating the mechanisms of cancer and specific biomarkers that could be used as new therapeutic targets. Furthermore, the non-coding microRNA as a target for cancer treatment and creation of organoids for the study of new treatments helped for the new therapeutics’ era called personalized medicine. Here we will discuss the role played by TME in tumor initiation and progression we will describe the recent nanotechnology applied to cancer treatment. Specifically, we will describe the potential role of nanoparticles (NPs) and their application in immune system modulation, ultimately leading to circumventing tumor cell proliferation.

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Keywords

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