Customizing cancer treatment at the nanoscale: a focus on anaplastic thyroid cancer therapy

Sep 24, 2026

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Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare yet highly aggressive malignancy with consistently poor prognosis, where conventional therapies alone have limited impact. In the nanomedicine era, nanotechnology has been explored to expand treatment options and improve outcomes. This review systematically summarizes nanomedicine-based ATC therapeutics, including chemotherapy, differentiation therapy, radioiodine therapy, gene therapy, targeted therapy, photothermal therapy, and combination regimens, and it discusses future challenges and opportunities for ongoing approaches.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Therapeutic landscape and rationale

Nanomedicine-based treatment approaches

Future challenges and opportunities

Wang et al. Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2023) 21:374 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-023-02094-9](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-023-02094-9) Journal of Nanobiotechnology REVIEW Open Access Customizing cancer treatment at the nanoscale: a focus on anaplastic thyroid cancer therapy Jingjing Wang1,2,3, Jie Tan4, Bian Wu5, Ruolin Wu1,2,3, Yanmei Han1,2,3, Chenyang Wang1,2,3, Zairong Gao1,2,3*, Dawei Jiang1,2,3* and Xiaotian Xia1,2,3* Abstract Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare but highly aggressive kind of thyroid cancer. Various therapeutic methods have been considered for the treatment of ATC, but its prognosis remains poor. With the advent of the nanomedicine era, the use of nanotechnology has been introduced in the treatment of various cancers and has shown great potential and broad prospects in ATC treatment. The current review meticulously describes and summarizes the research progress of various nanomedicine-based therapeutic methods of ATC, including chemotherapy, differentiation therapy, radioiodine therapy, gene therapy, targeted therapy, photothermal therapy, and combination therapy. Furthermore, potential future challenges and opportunities for the currently developed nanomedicines for ATC treatment are discussed. As far as we know, there are few reviews focusing on the nanomedicine of ATC therapy, and it is believed that this review will generate widespread interest from researchers in a variety of fields to further expedite preclinical research and clinical translation of ATC nanomedicines. Keywords Anaplastic thyroid cancer, Nanomaterials, Nanomedicine, Therapeutic mechanism, Clinical application *Correspondence: Zairong Gao [gaobonn@hust.edu.cn](gaobonn@hust.edu.cn)[ ](gaobonn@hust.edu.cn)Dawei Jiang [daweijiang@hust.edu.cn](daweijiang@hust.edu.cn)[ ](daweijiang@hust.edu.cn)Xiaotian Xia [xiaotian_xia@hust.edu.cn](xiaotian_xia@hust.edu.cn) 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.1277 Jiefang Avenue, 430022 Wuhan, Hubei, PR China 2Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China 3Key Laboratory of Biological Targeted Therapy, the Ministry of Education, Wuhan, China 4Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China 5Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China Introduction Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare but highly aggressive malignancy composed of undifferentiated follicular thyroid cells that is rapidly fatal in the vast majority of cases [1, 2]. ATC accounts for only 1–2% of all thyroid cancers, but it is responsible for more than 50% of thyroid cancer deaths [3]. The median overall survival of patients with ATC is approximately 3–5 months, and less than 20% of affected patients are still alive 1 year after diagnosis [4, 5]. Clinically, ATC typically affects elderly individuals, with the majority being over 60 years old and predominantly female [2]. ATC is characterized by a rapid onset, causing symptoms such as hoarseness, dysphagia, and dyspnea. Currently, the most commonly employed treatment strategies for ATC include excision surgery, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), and chemotherapy [6, 7]. However, © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s

FAQs

Why is anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) difficult to treat?

ATC is rare but highly aggressive, rapidly fatal in most cases, and has a poor prognosis with low 1-year survival rates after diagnosis. Patients are often diagnosed at an advanced stage, limiting surgical options.

What nanomedicine-based therapies does the review cover for ATC?

The review summarizes nanomedicine-based strategies including chemotherapy, differentiation therapy, radioiodine therapy, gene therapy, targeted therapy, photothermal therapy, and combination therapy.

What challenges and future directions are discussed for ATC nanomedicines?

The review discusses potential future challenges and opportunities for currently developed nanomedicines, highlighting issues such as side effects and tumor resistance that can limit therapeutic benefit.

Sep 24, 2026

Upload by McQueen