Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Liver cancer, notably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a significant global health burden due to its high fatality rates. Conventional antitumor medications face challenges, including poor targeting, high toxicity, and drug resistance, leading to suboptimal clinical outcomes. This revi...

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Main Authors: Xianzhe Yu, Qin Zhang, Leibo Wang, Yan Zhang, Lingling Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:Experimental Hematology & Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40164-025-00658-z
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author Xianzhe Yu
Qin Zhang
Leibo Wang
Yan Zhang
Lingling Zhu
author_facet Xianzhe Yu
Qin Zhang
Leibo Wang
Yan Zhang
Lingling Zhu
author_sort Xianzhe Yu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Liver cancer, notably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a significant global health burden due to its high fatality rates. Conventional antitumor medications face challenges, including poor targeting, high toxicity, and drug resistance, leading to suboptimal clinical outcomes. This review focused on nanoparticle use in diagnosing and delivering medication for HCC, aiming to advance the development of nanomedicines for improved treatment outcomes. As an emerging frontier science and technology, nanotechnology has shown great potential, especially in precision medicine and personalized treatment. The success of nanosystems is attributable to their smaller size, biocompatibility, selective tumor accumulation, and lower toxicity. Nanoparticles, as a central part of nanotechnology innovation, have emerged in the field of medical diagnostics and therapeutics to overcome the various limitations of conventional chemotherapy, thus offering promising applications for improved selectivity, earlier and more precise diagnosis of cancers, personalized treatment, and overcoming drug resistance. Nanoparticles play a crucial role in drug delivery and imaging of HCC, with the body acting as a delivery system to target and deliver drugs or diagnostic reagents to specific organs or tissues, helping to accurately diagnose and target therapies while minimizing damage to healthy tissues. They protect drugs from early degradation and increase their biological half-life.
format Article
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series Experimental Hematology & Oncology
spelling doaj-art-873f0864951245519d9c19d4285aeb142025-08-20T02:11:22ZengBMCExperimental Hematology & Oncology2162-36192025-04-0114111810.1186/s40164-025-00658-zEngineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinomaXianzhe Yu0Qin Zhang1Leibo Wang2Yan Zhang3Lingling Zhu4Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center & Lung Cancer Center/Lung Cancer Institute, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Postgraduate Students, West China School of Medicine/West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital Guizhou Hospital GuiyangDepartment of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center & Lung Cancer Center/Lung Cancer Institute, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center & Lung Cancer Center/Lung Cancer Institute, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityAbstract Liver cancer, notably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poses a significant global health burden due to its high fatality rates. Conventional antitumor medications face challenges, including poor targeting, high toxicity, and drug resistance, leading to suboptimal clinical outcomes. This review focused on nanoparticle use in diagnosing and delivering medication for HCC, aiming to advance the development of nanomedicines for improved treatment outcomes. As an emerging frontier science and technology, nanotechnology has shown great potential, especially in precision medicine and personalized treatment. The success of nanosystems is attributable to their smaller size, biocompatibility, selective tumor accumulation, and lower toxicity. Nanoparticles, as a central part of nanotechnology innovation, have emerged in the field of medical diagnostics and therapeutics to overcome the various limitations of conventional chemotherapy, thus offering promising applications for improved selectivity, earlier and more precise diagnosis of cancers, personalized treatment, and overcoming drug resistance. Nanoparticles play a crucial role in drug delivery and imaging of HCC, with the body acting as a delivery system to target and deliver drugs or diagnostic reagents to specific organs or tissues, helping to accurately diagnose and target therapies while minimizing damage to healthy tissues. They protect drugs from early degradation and increase their biological half-life.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40164-025-00658-zHepatocellular carcinomaNanomedicineNanoparticlesDrug deliveryTumor imagingEarly diagnosis
spellingShingle Xianzhe Yu
Qin Zhang
Leibo Wang
Yan Zhang
Lingling Zhu
Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
Experimental Hematology & Oncology
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Nanomedicine
Nanoparticles
Drug delivery
Tumor imaging
Early diagnosis
title Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_full Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_fullStr Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_full_unstemmed Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_short Engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
title_sort engineered nanoparticles for imaging and targeted drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma
topic Hepatocellular carcinoma
Nanomedicine
Nanoparticles
Drug delivery
Tumor imaging
Early diagnosis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40164-025-00658-z
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