Cancer treatment reviews
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
ReviewRadiotherapy and immunotherapy: Can this combination change the prognosis of patients with melanoma brain metastases?
Brain metastases are a common occurrence in patients with melanoma. Prognosis is poor. Radiotherapy is the main local treatment for brain metastases. ⋯ Preclinical data support this combination. Clinical data are more contradictory. In this review, we will discuss available therapies for melanoma brain metastases, focusing on the preclinical and clinical available data supporting the possible synergism between radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
ReviewMagnetic nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia with appropriate payloads: Paul Ehrlich's "magic (nano)bullet" for cancer theranostics?
Effective multimodal cancer management requires the optimal integration of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, alone or in combination, are integral parts of various cancer treatment protocols. Hyperthermia at 39-45°C is a potent radiosensitiser and has been shown to improve therapeutic outcomes in various tumours through its synergy with chemotherapy. ⋯ Magnetic nanoparticles can induce hyperthermia in the presence of an alternating magnetic field, thereby multifunctionally with tumour-specific payloads empowering tumour specific radiotheranostics (for both imaging and radiotherapy), chemotherapy drug delivery, immunotherapy and gene silencing therapy. Such a (nano)bullet could realise the "magic bullet" conceived by Paul Ehrlich more than a century ago. This article discusses the various aspects of this "magic (nano)bullet" and the challenges that need to be addressed to usher in this new paradigm in modern cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.