Nanoscale delivery of phytochemicals targeting CRISPR/Cas9 for cancer therapy

Abstract

Background: With growing global prevalence, cancer is a major cause of disease-related deaths. The understanding of the fundamental tumor pathology has contributed to the development of agents targeting oncogenic signaling pathways. Although these agents have increased survival for defined cancers, the therapeutic choices are still limited due to the development of drug resistance. CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful new technology in cancer therapy by facilitating the identification of novel treatment targets and development of cell-based treatment strategies.

Purpose: We focused on applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in cancer therapy and discuss nanoscale delivery of cytotoxic phytochemical targeting the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Results: Genome engineering has been significantly accelerated by the advancement of the CRISPR/Cas9 technique. Phytochemicals play a key role in treating cancer by targeting various mechanisms and pathways.

Conclusions: The use of CRISPR/Cas9 for nanoscale delivery of phytochemicals opens new avenues in cancer therapy. One of the main obstacles in the clinical application of CRISPR/Cas9 is safe and efficient delivery. As viral delivery methods have certain drawbacks, there is an urgent need to develop non-viral delivery systems for therapeutic applications.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; Genome editing; Nanotechnology; Phytochemicals.