Regenerative Wound Dressings for Skin Cancer

Abstract

Skin cancer is considered the most prevalent cancer type globally, with a continuously increasing prevalence and mortality growth rate. Additionally, the high risk of recurrence makes skin cancer treatment among the most expensive of all cancers, with average costs estimated to double within 5 years. Although tumor excision is the most effective approach among the available strategies, surgical interventions could be disfiguring, requiring additional skin grafts for covering the defects. In this context, post-surgery management should involve the application of wound dressings for promoting skin regeneration and preventing tumor recurrence and microbial infections, which still represents a considerable clinical challenge. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an up-to-date overview regarding the current status of regenerative wound dressings for skin cancer therapy. Specifically, the recent discoveries in natural biocompounds as anti-cancer agents for skin cancer treatment and the most intensively studied biomaterials for bioactive wound dressing development will be described.