Sonodynamic therapy (SDT): a novel treatment of cancer based on sonosensitizer liposome as a new drug carrier

Abstract

Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Chemotherapy is one of the main means of cancer treatment. Conventional chemotherapy agents kill rapidly proliferating cells, resulting in some of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. Liposome-encapsulated drugs offer the possibility to increase target efficacy as well as reducing toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the target specificity of liposome is dissatisfied. We urgently need to develop new approaches to improving drug target efficacy. Recently, sonodynamic therapy (SDT) of cancer, which is based on preferential uptake and retention of a sonosensitizer in tumor tissues and subsequent activation of drug by ultrasound radiation, is a developing field. In this article, we propose the use of sonosensitizers in combination with liposome to target chemotherapy drugs directly to tumor cells. SDT with low-intensity ultrasound combined with a sonosensitizer may be a promising approach to cancer therapy.