Glass-ceramics for cancer treatment: So close, or yet so far?

After years of research on the ability of glass-ceramics in bone regeneration, this family of biomateria Is has shown revolutionary potentials in a couple of emerging applications such as cancer treatment. Although glass-ceramics have not yet reached their actual potential in cancer therapy, the relevant research activity is significantly growing in this field. It has been projected that this idea and the advent of magnetic bioactive glass-ceramics and mesoporous bioactive glasses could result in major future developments in the field of cancer. Undoubtedly, this strategy needs further developments to better answer the critical questions essential for clinical usage. This review aims to address the existing research developments on glass ceramics for cancer treatment, starting with the current status and moving to future advances. (C) 2018 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.