Multifunctional metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanoplatforms for cancer therapy: from single to combination therapy

Cancer remains a severe threat to human health. To date, although various therapeutic methods, including radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy (CDT), phototherapy, starvation therapy, and immunotherapy, have entered a new stage of rapid progress in cancer theranostics, their limited therapeutic effect and significant side effects need to be considered carefully. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, the marriage of nanomaterials and therapeutic methods provides the practical possibility to improve the deficiencies in cancer therapy. Notably, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composed of ions/clusters and bridging ligands through coordination bonds have been widely applied in cancer therapy to deal with the drawbacks of different therapeutic methods, such as severe side effects, low stability, and poor efficacy, owing to their controllable morphologies, tailorable diameters, diverse compositions, tunable porosities, high specific surface areas, facile functionalization, and good biocompatibility. This review summarizes the recent advanced developments and achievements of multifunctional MOF-based nanoplatforms for cancer therapy through single therapy methods, including RT, chemotherapy, CDT, phototherapy (photodynamic and photothermal therapy), starvation therapy and immunotherapy, and combination therapy methods. Moreover, the prospects and challenges of MOF-based nanoplatforms used in tumor therapy are also discussed.