Liposomal therapies in oncology: does one size fit all?

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2018

Authors

Sousa, I (Author) Other; Rodrigues, F (Author) Other; Prazeres, H (Author) Other; Lima, RT (Author) Other; Soares, P (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology

Vol. 82

Pages: 741-755

ISSN: 0344-5704

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 15 Citations

Scopus - 14 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00P-HY7

DOI: 10.1007/s00280-018-3668-7

Abstract (EN): Liposomal therapies opened the chapter of nanomedicine, in 1995, with the approval of liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil((R))) for the treatment of numerous types of cancer. For the first time, liposomes permitted the employment of potent chemotherapeutic agents with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, with less undesired side effects. Liposomal therapies allow the drug encapsulation and more selective delivery in the tumor bed, particularly due to the enhanced permeation and retention effect. These unique characteristics explain why liposomal therapies are being increasingly considered as alternatives in cancer therapy and represent an important research field with the recent approval for clinical use and emergent formulations in clinical trials. Even so, the response rate of liposomal therapies varies between 5 and 71%, and they are still indistinguishably given to every patient. As already well-demonstrated for conventional chemotherapies and targeted therapies, there is also the need for predictive biomarkers that allow a better use of liposomal drugs, with higher patient quality of life. Our aim in this review was to address the approved liposomal therapies and to summarize the information concerning possible predictive markers of response in their various clinical applications, to personalize each patient treatment and maximize its efficacy.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15