Exploring Promises of siRNA in Cancer Therapeutics

Abstract

Since the discovery of the RNA interference (RNAi) in 2006, several attempts have been made to use it for designing and developing drug treatments for a variety of diseases, including cancer. In this mini-review, we focus on the potential of small interfering RNAs (siRNA) in anticancer treatment. We first describe the significant barriers that exist on the path to clinical application of siRNA drugs. Then the current delivery approaches of siRNAs using lipids, polymers, and, in particular, polymeric carriers that overcome the aforementioned obstacles have been reviewed. Also, few siRNA mediated drugs currently in clinical trials for cancer therapy, and a collated list of siRNA databases having a qualitative and/ or quantitative summary of the data in each database have been briefly mentioned. This mini review aims to facilitate our understanding about the siRNA, their delivery systems and the possible barriers in their in vivo usage for biomedical applications.