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Gholami et al. Mini-invasive Surg 2018;2:44 Mini-invasive Surgery
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1225.2018.44

Review Open Access

Theranostic nanoplatforms for treatment and
diagnosis of rectal and colon cancer: a brief review

Yaser Hadi Gholami 1,3,4 , Alexander Engel 2,3,4

1 School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia.
2 University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia.
3 Bill Walsh Translational Research Laboratories, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, St Leonards 2065, Australia.
4 Sydney Vital Translational Cancer Research Centre, St Leonards 2065, Australia.
Correspondence to: Dr. Alexander Engel, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia. E-mail: alexander.engel@sydney.edu.au

How to cite this article: Gholami YH, Engel A. Theranostic nanoplatforms for treatment and diagnosis of rectal and colon
cancer: a brief review. Mini-invasive Surg 2018;2:44. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1225.2018.44

Received: 2 Jun 2018 First Decision: 13 Nov 2018 Revised: 7 Dec 2018 Accepted: 11 Dec 2018 Published: 26 Dec 2018

Science Editor: Gordon N. Buchanan Copy Editor: Cui Yu Production Editor: Huan-Liang Wu

Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common health problem due to its high prevalence and high mortality rate. Adjuvant
and neo-adjuvant strategies, chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone or in combination, have substantially improved
survival and local recurrence rates. Their effectiveness remains limited due to the intrinsic build-up of resistance of
cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs, dose-limiting toxicities and other major side effects. New strategies to overcome
these issues are being developed, one of which is cancer nanomedicine, a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research
field. The last few decades have seen a rapid growth of interest in utilising nanoparticles and nanotechnology in cancer
medicine. This is mainly due to the suitable physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles for in vivo applications.
Cancer nanomedicine for targeted drug delivery and imaging has been widely investigated preclinically and clinically.
Nanomedicine has been considered as a novel solution to enhance CRC diagnosis and treatment, both separately and
in combination using theranostic techniques. This review highlights the research, opportunities, and challenges for the
development of nanoplatforms for diagnosing and treating CRC.

Keywords: Nanomedicine, colorectal cancer, nanoparticles

INTRODUCTION
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer in the world [1-3] . In stage III rectal cancer
surgical resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, and of late neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy in
locally advanced disease, survival rates up to 58% at 5 years [3-6] have been reported. Recurrence, local

© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
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and indicate if changes were made.

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