Multi-functional polymeric micelles for chemotherapy-based combined cancer therapy.

Currently, the therapeutic performance of traditional mono-chemotherapy on cancers remains unsatisfactory because of the tumor heterogeneity and multidrug resistance. In light of intricate tumor structures and distinct tumor microenvironments (TMEs), combinational therapeutic strategies with multiple anticancer drugs from different mechanisms can synergistically optimize the outcomes and concomitantly minimize the adverse effects during the therapy process. Extensive research on polymeric micelles (PMs) for biomedical applications has revealed the growing importance of nanomedicines for cancer therapy in the recent decade. Starting from traditional simple delivery systems, PMs have been extended to multi-faceted therapeutic strategies. Here we review and summarize the most recent advances in combinational therapy based on multifunctional PMs including a combination of multiple anticancer drugs, chemo-gene therapy, chemo-phototherapy and chemo-immunotherapy. The design approaches, action mechanisms and therapeutic applications of these nanodrugs are summarized. In addition, we highlight the opportunities and potential challenges associated with this promising field, which will provide new guidelines for advanced combinational cancer chemotherapy.

Recent Advances of Polycationic siRNA Vectors for Cancer Therapy.

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have recently emerged as a new class of biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of various diseases, including genetic diseases, viral infections, heritable disorders, and most prominently, cancer. However, clinical applications of siRNA-based therapeutics through intravenous administration have been limited due to their rapid degradation and renal clearance, poor cellular uptake, low cytoplasmic release by escaping endocytic uptake, and off-target effects. The success of siRNA-based therapeutics depends upon the design and creation of efficient delivery vectors that should be able to protect siRNA from in vivo degradation and specifically deliver siRNA to cytosol of target cells. Over the past decade, myriad types of carrier systems composed of cationic polymers have been designed for delivery of siRNA to tumor cells. In this review, we overview recent advances in siRNA delivery by using these promising nonviral carrier systems in diverse approaches to overcome the delivery hindrances and provide valuable understanding to direct the future design of siRNA delivery carriers.