What is the Reason That the Pharmacological Future of Chemotherapeutics in the Treatment of Lung Cancer Could Be Most Closely Related to Nanostructures? - The Review

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Levi

Over the course of several decades, chemotherapy for lung cancer has changed little, improving survival only by a few months while causing many side effects. Evidence indicates that platinum drugs such as cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin can interact with aromatic-ring compounds bearing nitrogen with a free electron pair, potentially competing with DNA nucleobases. This review systematizes lung-cancer anticancer strategies and argues that nanotechnology could enable targeted drug delivery, reduce toxic dose, minimize undesired interactions, and add diagnostic options, supporting nanomedicine for personalized medicine.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages45

Reading Time1 h 53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Definition and global burden of cancer

Lung cancer incidence, mortality, and regional situation

Histological classes of lung cancer

Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

International Journal of Nanomedicine Dovepress open access to scientific and medical research Open Access Full Text Article REVIEW What is the Reason That the Pharmacological Future of Chemotherapeutics in the Treatment of Lung Cancer Could Be Most Closely Related to Nanostructures? Platinum Drugs in Therapy of Non-Small and Small Cell Lung Cancer and Their Unexpected, Possible Interactions. The Review Kamil Szupryczyński 1 , Przemysław Czeleń2 , Tomasz Jeliński2 , Beata Szefler 2 1Doctoral School of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus, Copernicus University, Bydgoszcz, Poland; 2Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Bydgoszcz, Poland Correspondence: Beata Szefler, Email [beatas@cm.umk.pl](beatas@cm.umk.pl) | Abstract: Over the course of several decades, anticancer treatment with chemotherapy drugs for lung cancer has not changed significantly. Unfortunately, this treatment prolongs the patient’s life only by a few months, causing many side effects in the human body. It has also been proven that drugs such as Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Oxaliplatin and others can react with other substances containing an aromatic ring in which the nitrogen atom has a free electron group in its structure. Thus, such structures may have a competitive effect on the nucleobases of DNA. Therefore, scientists are looking not only for new drugs, but also for new alternative ways of delivering the drug to the cancer site. Nanotechnology seems to be a great hope in this matter. Creating a new nanomedicine would reduce the dose of the drug to an absolute minimum, and thus limit the toxic effect of the drug; it would allow for the exclusion of interactions with competitive compounds with a structure similar to nucleobases; it would also permit using the so-called targeted treatment and bypassing healthy cells; it would allow for the introduction of other treatment options, such as radiotherapy directly to the cancer site; and it would provide diagnostic possibilities. This article is a review that aims to systematize the knowledge regarding the anticancer treatment of lung cancer, but not only. It shows the clear possibility of interactions of chemotherapeutics with compounds competitive to the nitrogenous bases of DNA. It also shows the possibilities of using nanostructures as potential Platinum drug carriers, and proves that nanomedicine can easily become a new medicinal product in personalized medicine. Keywords: fullerenes, nanotube, nanoparticles, drug delivery, personalized medicine, platinum-based drugs, cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin, nedaplatin | | --- | | Introduction
Cancer is defined by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a group of diseases caused by abnormal, uncontrolled cell growth, which can be located in almost any organ or tissue of the body.1 The primary cause of cancer-related deaths is
metastasizing,2–7 which is the spread of cancer cells from the initial organ or tissue to another one in the host.7 Nowadays, cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. The most common women’s cancers are breast, colorectal, lung, cervical, and thyroid, whereas among men, these are lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach, and liver cancers.1
Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer worldwide, for which detailed treatment regimens are presented. In 2022, lung cancer had the most new cases among all cancers, as many as almost 2.5 million, which constituted 12.4% of all new cancer cases. Although this statistic was comparable to breast cancer, lung cancer had | Received: 26 April 2024 Accepted: 19 July 2024 Published: 14 September 2024 International Journal of Nanomedicine 2024:19 9503–9547 9503 © 2024 Szupryczyński et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at [https://www.dovepress.com/](https://www.

FAQs

Why has chemotherapy for lung cancer remained limited in effectiveness?

Chemotherapy with lung cancer drugs has not changed significantly over decades and extends life only by a few months, accompanied by many side effects.

What interactions are discussed for platinum chemotherapeutic drugs?

Cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin are described as reacting with aromatic-ring compounds containing a nitrogen atom with a free electron group, potentially competing with DNA nucleobases.

How do nanostructures relate to future chemotherapy for lung cancer?

Nanotechnology is presented as a promising alternative delivery approach, enabling targeted treatment, bypassing healthy cells, reducing drug dose and toxicity, and supporting additional options such as radiotherapy and diagnostics at the cancer site.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Levi