Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. The rapid advancement of nanotechnology in recent years has fuelled a burgeoning interest in the field of nanoparticle research, in particular, its application in the medical arena.
A constantly expanding knowledge based on a better understanding of the properties of gold nanoparticles AuNPs coupled with relentless experimentation means that the frontiers of nanotechnology are constantly being challenged. At present, there seems to be heightened interest in the application of AuNPs to the management of cancer, encompassing diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of the disease.
These efforts are undertaken in the hope of revolutionizing current methods of treatment and treatment strategies for a multifactorial disease such as cancer. This review will focus on the current applications of AuNPs in cancer management.
Deaths from cancer around the globe are expected to climb upwards with an estimated 12 million deaths by cancer in 1. The frontiers of cancer research are therefore consistently challenged in order to advance the most effective means of cancer diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. Findings gleaned from cancer research would inevitably benefit mankind and save countless lives. Current therapies employed for the treatment of cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy among others.
While these methods have been accepted and practiced for decades, they have their drawbacks and side effects. Surgical removal of tumors is restricted mainly to large, resectable and accessible tumors. Chemotherapeutic drugs target rapidly dividing cells, and thus not only kill cancer cells, but also destroy normal cells like bone marrow cells and immune cells 2. Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy radiation like X-rays and gamma rays to destroy tumor cells, and inevitably causes deleterious effects to healthy tissues along the radiation path 3.
