Currently, cancer is the second largest cause of death worldwide and has reached critical levels. In spite of all the efforts, common treatments including chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and photothermal therapy suffer from various problems which limit their efficiency and performance. For this reason, different strategies are being explored which improve the efficiency of these traditional therapeutic methods or treat the tumor cells directly. One such strategy utilizing the Fenton reaction has been investigated by many groups for the possible treatment of cancer cells. This approach is based on the knowledge that high levels of hydrogen peroxide exist within cancer cells and can be used to catalyze the Fenton reaction, leading to cancer-killing reactive oxygen species. Analysis of the current literature has shown that, due to the diverse morphologies, different sizes, various chemical properties, and the tunable structure of nanoparticles, nanotechnology offers the most promising method to facilitate the Fenton reaction with cancer therapy. This review aims to highlight the use of the Fenton reaction using different nanoparticles to improve traditional cancer therapies and the emerging Fenton-based therapy, highlighting the obstacles, challenges, and promising developments in each of these areas.
Keywords: Fenton; cancer; chemotherapy; iron; nanoparticles; photodynamic therapy; photothermal therapy; treatment.