IngentaConnect Drug Delivery Systems for Brain Tumor Therapy

Authors: Rautioa, Jarkko¹; Chikhale, Prashant J.¹

Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 10, Number 12, May 2004 , pp. 1341-1353(13)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

Brain tumors are one of the most lethal forms of cancer. They are extremely difficult to treat. Although, the rate of brain tumor incidence is relatively low, the field clearly lacks therapeutic strategies capable of overcoming barriers for effective delivery of drugs to brain tumors. Clinical failure of many potentially effective therapeutics for the treatment of brain tumors is usually not due to a lack of drug potency, but rather can be attributed to shortcomings in the methods by which a drug is delivered to the brain and into brain tumors. In response to the lack of efficacy of conventional drug delivery methods, extensive efforts have been made to develop novel strategies to overcome the obstacles for brain tumor drug delivery. The challenge is to design therapeutic strategies that deliver drugs to brain tumors in a safe and effective manner. This review provides some insight into several potential techniques that have been developed to improve drug delivery to brain tumors, and it should be helpful to clinicians and research scientists as well.

Keywords: brain tumors; cancer; malignant gliomas; glioblastoma multiforme; anaplastic astrocytoma

Document Type: Review article

DOI: 10.2174/1381612043384916

Affiliations: 1: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio,Finland.

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