Cancer Nanomedicine—from the Bench to the Bedside, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world, and its incidence has been steadily increasing since 1980. Cancer kills more people on a global scale than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined and accounts for 14 million new cases and 8 million related deaths in yearly. In the western world, cancer represents the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the impact of cancer in the developing world is growing at an alarming rate, and low- and middle-income countries are projected to account for two thirds of all cases of cancer worldwide by 2050. 

As we all know, finding efficient non-invasive imaging systems to be used in diagnosing cancer and/or novel effective anticancer therapies are two urgent and still unresolved problems and, in the fight against this disease, scientists are devoting tremendous efforts towards the utilization of nanomedicines. Nanotechnology-based reporter and therapeutic systems exhibit major benefits with respect to conventional tracers and active agents, including—among others—higher imaging resolution, improved half-life, more efficient tumor targeting, enhanced therapeutic action and drug resistance bypass, and reduced side effects. Unfortunately, only a few nanodiagnostics and nanotherapeutics have reached the commercial level, most still being in the investigational phase. 

Accordingly, this Special Issue aims at gathering state-of-the-art efforts in the development of new, reliable, efficient, and effective nanosystems for cancer imaging and anticancer nanotherapeutics (nanomedicine and/or nanosystems carrying anticancer agents (from small drugs to biologics and genetic materials) from their initial design to the relevant preclinical testing of efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity.

In particular, we welcome the submission of contributions focused on nanosystems for cancer imaging/anticancer nanotherapeutics and dealing with one or more of the following aspects:·      

• Computer-assisted design, synthesis, and optimization of new covalent or self-assembled chemical entities as cancer nanomedicines and/or nanosystems carrying anticancer agents;·      
• Physicochemical and structural characterization;·      
• In vitro and in vivo studies, including (a) cellular uptake and localization of the compounds, (b) controlled release, (c) mechanism of the anticancer activity, (d) efficacy assessment in relevant oncology models (xenografts/syngeneic models), (e) ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) properties; (f) characterization and modeling of the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) relationship, (g) ability to elude the immune system long enough to release a therapeutic cargo, and (h) safety and toxicology studies in clinically relevant animal models.

Prof. Dr. Sabrina Pricl
Guest Editor

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