Nanoparticles as Therapeutic Agents for Patients With Brain Tumors

The advent of nanotechnology has offered the development of promising new weapons against various cancers, including malignant brain tumors. From the bioengineering point of view, nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit many properties which enhance their suitability as therapeutic agents. A wide variety of NPs have been created, with ingenious strategies for binding and destroying cancer cells, including glioblastoma and medulloblastoma. This chapter discusses basic bioengineering principles, as well as in vitro and in vivo studies of NPs, as related to neuro-oncology. Critical issues such as NP delivery into brain tissue (across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or by convection-enhanced delivery), toxicity, and binding to tumor cells in vivo, are beginning to be addressed. If the BBB is intact, NPs may be transported across it by means of adsorptive-mediated transcytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis, or receptor-mediated transcytosis. Experimental studies of NPs should be standardized, in order to facilitate rational comparison of their therapeutic potential. There is a pressing need for more clinical trials aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of this form of therapy, which holds great potential for patients with malignant brain tumors.