Combined radiation strategies for novel and enhanced cancer treatment
- 15 July 2020
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in International Journal of Radiation Biology
- Vol. 96 (9), 1087-1103
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09553002.2020.1787544
Abstract
Purpose: Numerous studies focus on cancer therapy worldwide, and although many advances have been recorded, the complexity of the disease dictates thinking out of the box to confront it. This study reviews some of the currently available ionizing (IR) and non-ionizing radiation (NIR)-based treatment methods and explores their possible combinations that lead to synergistic, multimodal approaches with promising therapeutic outcomes. Conclusion: Traditional techniques, like radiotherapy (RT) show decent results, although they cannot spare 100% the healthy tissues neighboring with the cancer ones. Targeted therapies, such as proton and photodynamic therapy (PT and PDT, respectively) present adequate outcomes, even though each one has its own drawbacks. In order to overcome these limitations, the combination of therapeutic modalities has been proposed and has already been showing promising results. At the same time, the recent advances in nanotechnology in the form of nanoparticles enhance cancer therapy, making multimodal treatments worthy of exploring and studying. The combination of RT and PDT has reached the level of clinical trials and is showing promising results. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo studies of nanoparticles with PDT have also provided beneficial results concerning enhanced radiation treatments. In any case, novel and multimodal approaches have to be adopted in order to achieve personalized, enhanced and effective cancer treatment.Keywords
Funding Information
- Greece and the European Union (MIS-5000432)
- State Scholarships Foundation (2018-050-0502-14578, 2018-050-0502-15801)
- European Regional Development Fund
- Synergy ELI-LASERLAB EUROPE, HiPER & IPERION-CH.gr (MIS 5002735)
This publication has 152 references indexed in Scilit:
- The HYP-RT Hypoxic Tumour Radiotherapy Algorithm and Accelerated Repopulation Dose per Fraction StudyComputational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2012
- A Quantitative Theory of Solid Tumor Growth, Metabolic Rate and VascularizationPLOS ONE, 2011
- The Role of Surface Functionality on Acute Cytotoxicity, ROS Generation and DNA Damage by Cationic Gold NanoparticlesSmall, 2010
- Explicit dosimetry for photodynamic therapy: macroscopic singlet oxygen modelingJournal of Biophotonics, 2010
- Quantum dots and nanoparticles for photodynamic and radiation therapies of cancerAdvanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2008
- Mechanisms of metastasisBreast Cancer Research, 2008
- Elucidating the Mechanism of Cellular Uptake and Removal of Protein-Coated Gold Nanoparticles of Different Sizes and ShapesNano Letters, 2007
- Versatile Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy at Infrared ExcitationJournal of the American Chemical Society, 2007
- Defining the tumour and target volumes for radiotherapyCancer Imaging, 2004
- Intensity-modulated radiotherapy - what is it?Cancer Imaging, 2004