Water soluble polymers in tumor targeted delivery

The rationales for the use of water soluble polymers for anticancer drug delivery include: the potential to overcome some forms of multidrug; resistance. preferential accumulation in solid tumors due to enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, biorecognizability. and targetability. The utility of a novel paradigm for the treatment of ovarian carcinoma in an experimental animal model. which combines chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy with polymer-bound anticancer drugs is explained. Research and clinical applications as well as directions for the future development of macromolecular therapeutics are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.