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Journal of Academic Research and Innovation

Abstract

Conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have been fundamental in the treatment of cancer. However, these therapies are often limited due to serious side effects, including non-specific targeting of healthy tissues, systemic toxicity, and resistance to treatment. These limitations are currently being addressed by emerging therapies that can provide more effective and precise therapeutic approaches, such as immunotherapy and nanomedicine. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have shown great promise in cancer research and treatment due to their distinct physicochemical characteristics, biocompatibility, and versatility. This literature review aims to discuss conventional cancer therapies and further explores the potential of nanoparticles especially that of gold (AuNPs) in cancer treatment, examining their mechanisms of action including tumour targeting, drug delivery, and photo-thermal and photodynamic therapies. This paper investigates their function in imaging and diagnostics, such as enhancing contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans and serving as carriers for molecular probes. The review examines the use of AuNPs in specific cancers, while highlighting key findings from current clinical trials. Challenges in clinical translation, including large-scale production, toxicity concerns, and navigating complex regulatory processes will also be discussed. Finally, the potential of AuNP-based therapies to potentially transform cancer treatment as part of a multidisciplinary approach, and future directions for their development, is highlighted in the final section.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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