BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer being a significant global health burden, for which conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are limited by poor tumour specificity, systemic toxicity, infertility, and compromised long-term disease control. These limitations highlight the need for advanced, targeted, and patient-friendly therapeutic strategies, nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems.
METHODS: This review evaluates recent advancements in nanocarrier platforms designed for cervical cancer therapy. A systematic analysis covering a wide spectrum of nanocarriers, solid lipid nanoparticles, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, hydrogels, albumin-based nanoparticles, niosomes, surface-functionalized systems, and plant-derived vesicles. The review integrates findings from global preclinical and clinical studies, emphasizing drug-loading capacity, targeting efficiency, and therapeutic performance.
RESULT: Nanocarriers demonstrate enhanced tumour targeting via active, passive, and stimuli-responsive mechanisms. Their ability to co-deliver chemotherapeutics along with gene silencing agents, photothermal/magnetic functionalities, and tumour specific ligands, tend to enhance cellular uptake and help overcome multidrug resistance. Additionally, facilitating real-time monitoring and theranostic approach, integrating diagnosis and treatment.
CONCLUSION: Nanocarrier-based drug delivery offers a transformative pathway for cervical cancer management by providing safer, more effective, and personalised therapeutic options. Despite substantial progress, challenges such as large-scale manufacturing, in-vivo stability, long-term safety, and robust regulatory compliance must be addressed. Continued technological advancements and interdisciplinary coordination are expected to potentially benifit clinical translation and support precision medicine in cervical cancer care.
