Design and progress of drug-loading polymeric bead for tumor embolization

Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) has been widely used for the treatment of intermediate-staged hepatocellular carcinoma. One of its intrinsic disadvantages is that the anticancer drug mixed with lipiodol is very easy to wash out from the tumor, not only alleviating its therapeutic effect but also leading to adverse reactions. Drug-eluting polymeric beads were introduced as a new embolic agent due to their unique characteristic of simultaneous embolization and release of anticancer drugs in a sustainable manner. This significantly reduces the occurrence of adverse events related to the systemic release of the anticancer drug. The rational design of the polymeric embolic is a critical issue. This review presents different frameworks of polymeric embolic as well as their loading and unloading of drugs for chemoembolization. Additionally, besides those inert polymeric beads, we will introduce more functional and active embolic polymers that disturb the tumor microenvironment after embolization, not just carrying the anticancer drugs. These rapidly advancing polymeric biomaterials are pushing vessel embolization techniques toward a more precise therapeutic strategy.