Recent advances of nanotechnology for the delivery of anticancer drugs for breast cancer treatment

© 2019, The Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology. Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of death for women worldwide. While chemotherapy is the treatment option for most cancers, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the three main therapeutic strategies for the treatment of breast cancer. In recent years, nanotechnology applications for cancer treatments have attracted a lot of attention. Area covered: This review focuses on the various nanoparticle types, such as liposomes, micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and gold nanoparticles, and their applications for the treatment of breast cancer. Expert opinion: In recent decades, nanotechnology has developed and been applied to cancer treatments. Currently, nanotechnology plays an important role in the targeted delivery of drugs for cancer treatments, including breast cancer. Nanoparticles can target tumors and control the release of drugs to precise sites, thereby improving the therapeutic efficiency of drugs and decreasing the toxicity to normal tissues or organs. In addition, nanoparticles are also able to activate immune cells against tumors. Therefore, nanoparticles are a promising tool for future cancer research and treatment.