Phytochemical-based Nanoformulations for Drug-resistant Brain Cancer

Abstract

Background: Brain tumor is the deadliest to treat with conventional drug therapy as it has various side effects on patients leading to organ failure. Objective: It is difficult to treat brain cancers or deliver drugs to the targeted organ due to the numerous challenges faced. The current cytotoxic drugs have serious side effects, such as causing extreme damage to healthy cells, anemia associated with bone marrow suppression, constipation, small intestine infection, inflammatory responses, immunodeficiency, and multiorgan toxic effects. Low solubility, poor cell penetration, hepatic disposition, narrow therapeutic index, and rapid uptake by normal tissues are also a few challenges. To overcome these issues, it is important to choose plant-based drugs in nano-formulations to inhibit tumor cell growth without harming the normal cells of an individual. The biggest challenge in treating tumors is multidrug resistance, which can be overcome by choosing combination therapies of drugs based on phytochemicals and chemotherapeutic agents, which may lead to minimized adverse effects on patients with brain tumors. Results: As the use of nano-technology for targeted delivery enhances the performance of chemotherapeutic agents, the drugs with poor characteristics can further be encapsulated in nano-carriers and easily delivered to the poorly accessible areas of the brain. Conclusion: Based on the current progression in nanoformulations, so many new therapeutic approaches are available to provide better therapeutic results. However, there seems to be a multitude of issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure efficient results in treating cancer and thus lessening the fatality rate.