Nanotechnology is a promising tool for the treatment of cancer. In the past decades, major steps have been made to bring nanotechnology into the clinic in the form of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. The great hope of drug delivery systems is to reduce the side effects of chemotherapeutics while simultaneously increasing the efficiency of the therapy. An increased treatment efficiency would greatly benefit the quality of life as well as the life expectancy of cancer patients. However, besides its many advantages, nanomedicines have to face several challenges and hurdles before they can be used for the effective treatment of tumors. Here, we give an overview of the hallmarks of cancer, especially colorectal cancer, and discuss biological barriers as well as how drug delivery systems can be utilized for the effective treatment of tumors and metastases.
Keywords: biological barriers; cancer; drug delivery system; nanomedicine; nanoparticles.