Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Undergraduate, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Selangor 47500, Malaysia
  • 4 Centre for Drug Delivery Research, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Curr Pharm Des, 2020;26(42):5365-5379.
PMID: 32693762 DOI: 10.2174/1381612826666200721000958

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the commonest cause of cancer deaths among Women. It is known to be caused due to mutations in certain receptors, viz. estrogens or progesterones. The most frequently used conventional treatment strategies against BC include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and partial or entire mastectomy, however, these strategies are often associated with multiple adverse effects, thus reducing patient compliance. Advancement of nanotechnology in the medical application has been made to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness with a significant reduction in the unintended side-effects associated with incorporated anticancer drugs against cancer. The surface engineering technology of the nanocarriers is more pronounced in delivering the therapeutics specifically to target cells. Consequently, folic acid, a small molecular ligand for the folate receptor overexpressed cells, has shown immense response in treating BC cells. Folic acid conjugated nanocarriers have shown remarkable efficiency in targeting overexpressed folate receptors on the surface of BC cells. Binding of these target-specific folate-conjugated nanocarriers substantially improves the internalization of chemotherapeutics in BC cells, without much exposing the other parts of the body. Simultaneously, these folate-- conjugated nanocarriers provide imaging for regular monitoring of targeted drug delivery systems and their responses to an anticancer therapy. Therefore, this review demonstrates the potential of folate-conjugated nanotherapeutics for the treatment and theranostic approaches against BC along with the significant challenges to anticancer therapy, and the prospective insights into the clinical importance and effectiveness of folate conjugate nanocarriers.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.