Microbiota and cancer: In vitro and in vivo models to evaluate nanomedicines

Nanomedicine implication in cancer treatment and diagnosis studies witness huge attention, especially with the promising results obtained in preclinical studies. Despite this, only few nanomedicines succeeded to pass clinical phase. The human microbiota plays obvious roles in cancer development. Nanoparticles have been successfully used to modulate human microbiota and notably tumor associated microbiota. Taking the microbiota involvement under consideration when testing nanomedicines for cancer treatment might be a way to improve the poor translation from preclinical to clinical trials. Co-culture models of bacteria and cancer cells, as well as animal cancer-microbiota models offer a better representation for the tumor microenvironment and so potentially better platforms to test nanomedicine efficacy in cancer treatment. These models would allow closer representation of human cancer and might smoothen the passage from preclinical to clinical cancer studies for nanomedicine efficacy. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Nanomedicine has attracted significant attention in cancer treatment and diagnosis studies, but only a few have successfully passed clinical trials. The human microbiota plays a crucial role in cancer development, and utilizing nanoparticles to modulate the microbiota may improve the translation of nanomedicine from preclinical to clinical trials. Co-culture models of bacteria and cancer cells, as well as animal cancer-microbiota models, offer a more representative tumor microenvironment for testing nanomedicine efficacy in cancer treatment. These models provide a closer representation of human cancer and may facilitate the transition from preclinical to clinical studies for nanomedicine efficacy.