Advances in Nanostructure-mediated Hyperthermia in Tumor Therapies

Background: Hyperthermia has been proposed as a promising treatment modality for its advantageous profiles such as mini/non-invasiveness, good tolerability and cost-effectiveness. Quick development of nanotechnology in recent years has greatly broadened the application area of hyperthermia and endowed it with attractive new functions. This review aims to present an overview of different nanostructures mediated hyperthermia in terms of external stimuli source. Methods: We performed to review for the development and current status of nanostructure-mediated hyperthermia, by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library database for identification of relevant articles. Results: In the present study, the systemic results of hyperthermia mediated by nanostructures were researched, and five different kinds of external sources were found and listed in this review. The brief mechanism and commonly explored nanostructures were introduced and then combined therapies of nanostructure-mediated hyperthermia stimulated by different external sources were investigated. Finally, challenges with current nanostructures mediated hyperthermia were discussed in order to give advice to the future development of nanostructure-mediated hyperthermia. Conclusions: Despite all the achievements the new technology of nanostructure-mediated hyperthermia have made in pre-clinical animal experiments, there are still much to be pursued in the further development to be biocompatible, effective and precise. Keywords: Hyperthermia, nanostructure, photothermal, magnetic field, radiofrequency, microwave, ultrasound.