"Far from the public perception that nanotechnology and nanomedicine are still trending topics of science fiction"
. An Introduction to the Nano-Oncology, the Most Promising and Recent Contribution to Fight Cancer
. The State-of-the-Art of this New Paradigm, the Cancer Nanomedicine
Cancer is a leading cause of disease-related mortality, and with the increasing lifespan, it is predicted to be the cause of 50% of deaths in the 1st world population. Despite huge efforts, medical science has been unable to generate a "magic anticancer drug," that is, a drug that can cure cancer completely and efficiently.
The reason for this is that fundamental problems lie not in the drug itself, but in the way in which it is delivered and how it reaches the tumour. This lack of control and precision is present in other therapies, where a lack of specificity can thus damage healthy cells. One of the major goals in nanomedicine is to apply nanotechnology for the sustained, controlled and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents and radiosensitisers."