Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles
Melanoma is highly invasive and resistant to conventional treatments, accounting for nearly 75% of skin cancer-related deaths globally. Traditional therapies, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, often exhibit limited efficacy and are associated with significant side effects due to systemic drug...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Oncology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1590534/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849725106055544832 |
|---|---|
| author | Lanqi Zhu Guanlin Qiao Huiyang Gao Aowei Jiang Linan Zhang Xiaobing Wang |
| author_facet | Lanqi Zhu Guanlin Qiao Huiyang Gao Aowei Jiang Linan Zhang Xiaobing Wang |
| author_sort | Lanqi Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melanoma is highly invasive and resistant to conventional treatments, accounting for nearly 75% of skin cancer-related deaths globally. Traditional therapies, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, often exhibit limited efficacy and are associated with significant side effects due to systemic drug exposure. Microneedles (MNs), as an emerging drug delivery system, offer multiple advantages, including safety, painlessness, minimal invasiveness, and controlled drug release. Among these, hydrogel microneedles (HMNs) stand out due to their extracellular matrix-like structure and swelling-induced continuous hydrogel channels, which enable the direct delivery of therapeutic agents into the tumor microenvironment (TME). This approach enhances drug bioavailability while reducing systemic toxicity, establishing HMNs as a promising platform for melanoma treatment. This review highlights recent advancements in HMNs for melanoma therapy, focusing on their applications in biomarker extraction for early diagnosis and their role in supporting multimodal treatment strategies, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, targeted therapy, and combination therapy. Furthermore, the current matrix materials and fabrication techniques for HMNs are discussed. Finally, the limitations of HMNs in melanoma treatment are critically analyzed, and recommendations for future research and development are provided. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-20dca8c8a60f44e0bf315ca87c0098b6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2234-943X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Oncology |
| spelling | doaj-art-20dca8c8a60f44e0bf315ca87c0098b62025-08-20T03:10:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2025-04-011510.3389/fonc.2025.15905341590534Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedlesLanqi Zhu0Guanlin Qiao1Huiyang Gao2Aowei Jiang3Linan Zhang4Xiaobing Wang5The First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaThe First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaThe First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaMelanoma is highly invasive and resistant to conventional treatments, accounting for nearly 75% of skin cancer-related deaths globally. Traditional therapies, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, often exhibit limited efficacy and are associated with significant side effects due to systemic drug exposure. Microneedles (MNs), as an emerging drug delivery system, offer multiple advantages, including safety, painlessness, minimal invasiveness, and controlled drug release. Among these, hydrogel microneedles (HMNs) stand out due to their extracellular matrix-like structure and swelling-induced continuous hydrogel channels, which enable the direct delivery of therapeutic agents into the tumor microenvironment (TME). This approach enhances drug bioavailability while reducing systemic toxicity, establishing HMNs as a promising platform for melanoma treatment. This review highlights recent advancements in HMNs for melanoma therapy, focusing on their applications in biomarker extraction for early diagnosis and their role in supporting multimodal treatment strategies, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, targeted therapy, and combination therapy. Furthermore, the current matrix materials and fabrication techniques for HMNs are discussed. Finally, the limitations of HMNs in melanoma treatment are critically analyzed, and recommendations for future research and development are provided.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1590534/fullhydrogel microneedlesmelanomacancer therapydrug delivery systemscontrolled release |
| spellingShingle | Lanqi Zhu Guanlin Qiao Huiyang Gao Aowei Jiang Linan Zhang Xiaobing Wang Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles Frontiers in Oncology hydrogel microneedles melanoma cancer therapy drug delivery systems controlled release |
| title | Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| title_full | Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| title_short | Enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| title_sort | enhancing melanoma therapy with hydrogel microneedles |
| topic | hydrogel microneedles melanoma cancer therapy drug delivery systems controlled release |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1590534/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lanqizhu enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles AT guanlinqiao enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles AT huiyanggao enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles AT aoweijiang enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles AT linanzhang enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles AT xiaobingwang enhancingmelanomatherapywithhydrogelmicroneedles |