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Review
. 2021 Jul 2;14(13):3706.
doi: 10.3390/ma14133706.

Nanomaterials for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancers: A Review

Gustavo Ruiz-Pulido  1 , Dora I Medina  1 , Mahmood Barani  2 , Abbas Rahdar  3 , Ghasem Sargazi  4 , Francesco Baino  5 , Sadanand Pandey  6   7
Affiliations
Review

Nanomaterials for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancers: A Review

Gustavo Ruiz-Pulido et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a category of cancers that typically arise from the nose-, mouth-, and throat-lining squamous cells. The later stage of HNC diagnosis significantly affects the patient's survival rate. This makes it mandatory to diagnose this cancer with a suitable biomarker and imaging techniques at the earlier stages of growth. There are limitations to traditional technologies for early detection of HNC. Furthermore, the use of nanocarriers for delivering chemo-, radio-, and phototherapeutic drugs represents a promising approach for improving the outcome of HNC treatments. Several studies with nanostructures focus on the development of a targeted and sustained release of anticancer molecules with reduced side effects. Besides, nanovehicles could allow co-delivering of anticancer drugs for synergistic activity to counteract chemo- or radioresistance. Additionally, a new generation of smart nanomaterials with stimuli-responsive properties have been developed to distinguish between unique tumor conditions and healthy tissue. In this light, the present article reviews the mechanisms used by different nanostructures (metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, quantum dots, liposomes, nanomicelles, etc.) to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment, provides an up-to-date picture of the state of the art in this field, and highlights the major challenges for future improvements.

Keywords: biomaterials; cancer treatment; nanomaterials; nanoparticles; stimuli-responsive materials.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of current approaches for diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancer and use of nanostructures to enhance efficiency of these methods. Note: CT: Computed tomography, PET: positron emission tomography, MRI: magnetic resonance imaging, ERCC1: excision repair cross complementing group 1, p16: cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, IL8: interleukin-8, CCND1: cyclin D1, FGFR1: epidermal growth factor receptor group 1, NPs: nanoparticles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of active targeting of cancer cells by targeting moieties. Targeting moieties allow a specific binding with the overexpressed receptors on tumor cells. Created with BioRender.com.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic illustration of stimuli-responsive drug release. Drug release can be started by internal (pH, ROS production, and enzymatic activity) and external (temperature, magnetic field, and light) stimuli.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SERS diagnostic process summary. (a) Synthesis of cubic nanorattles, beginning with single-crystal, spherical gold nanoparticle (AuNP) cores. The AuNP cores are coated with cubic Ag shells to obtain AuNP@AgCube. Galvanic replacement transforms cubic Ag shells into cubic Au–Ag cages containing AuNP in the interior. Raman reporters are loaded, and the porous cubic cages are turned into complete shells by a final Au coating to obtain cube nanorattles. (b) Structure of individual hybridization complex. Gold nanorattles (Au-NR) are functionalized with DNA reporter probes, and streptavidin beads are functionalized with DNA capture probes. Both probes are complimentary to the specific cytokeratin sequence. (c) Extracted nucleic acids are incubated with functionalized nanorattles and beads, then washed away. Remaining complexes undergoing successful hybridization are isolated using a strong magnet and concentrate to a spot for laser excitation in order to yield a SERS signal. Reproduced from [205].
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Schematic representation for the detection of SCC-Ag. IDE-TiO2 surface was modified into amine by APTES followed by the immobilization of antibody or GNS antibody. The amine group from APTES reacted with the carboxyl group on the antibody. SCC-Ag was detected by the interaction at the antigenic region and compared. (b) UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements with GNS. Scanning was in the region between 480 and 560 nm, and the peak maxima were ~530 nm. The arrows indicate GNS with and without antibody. Reproduced from [208].
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