Development of Biomaterials for Targeted and Localized Cancer Drug Release
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 140
Special Issue Editors
Interests: targeted delivery; localized therapy; cancer biomaterials
Interests: ligand conjugated drug/nanoparticles; implantable drug delivery systems; cancer detection and treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer refers to a broad group of diseases that can arise in almost any organ or tissue when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably and invade adjacent tissues, and may spread to distant organs (metastasis) [1]. In 2022, the global cancer statistics were estimated at ~20 million new cases and ~9.7 million deaths worldwide [2]. Looking ahead, global incidence is projected to rise sharply, with a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022 to reach more than 35 million new cases annually by 2050, driven largely by population growth and aging, with disproportionate impacts on lower-resource issues [3,4]. These figures emphasize an impending epidemic that requires urgent attention.
Conventional systemic therapies are often constrained by dose-limiting toxicity, suboptimal tumor accumulation, rapid clearance, and treatment resistance. Biomaterial-enabled localized and controlled drug release offer an innovative route to increase on-target exposure while reducing systemic adverse effects. Emerging state-of-the-art strategies include implantable depots, injectable hydrogels, nano/microcarriers, and stimuli-responsive or ligand-targeted platforms tailored to the tumor microenvironment.
In this Special Issue, we aim to collate advances in biomaterials for targeted and localized cancer drug release, highlight translational considerations, and identify future directions that will accelerate discovery and therapy across cancer types.
References:
- World Health Organization (WHO). Cancer – Overview (Health Topics).
- Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (2024).
- World Health Organization (WHO). Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services (news release, Feb 1, 2024).
- American Cancer Society (ACS). Global Cancer Facts & Figures (webpage/report summary; includes 2022 burden and 2050 projections).
Dr. Precious O. Etinosa
Dr. John David Obayemi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- targeted delivery
- localized drug release
- controlled release kinetics
- cancer biomaterials
- injectable hydrogels
- implantable depots
- nanoparticles/microparticles
- tumor microenvironment
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