Author(s):
Ali Mahmoud Al-Samydai, Israa A. Almastafa, Muntadher Abdulsalam A. Al. Alrabeeah, Alhasan Ali Jabbar, Hany A. Al-hussaniy
Email(s):
hany_akeel2000@yahoo.com
DOI:
10.52711/0974-360X.2026.00069
Address:
Ali Mahmoud Al-Samydai1, Israa A. Almastafa2, Muntadher Abdulsalam A. Al. Alrabeeah3, Alhasan Ali Jabbar3,4, Hany A. Al-hussaniy5
1Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Centre (PDRC), Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, 19328, Jordan.
2College of Pharmacy, Al-Zahraa University for Women, Karbala, Iraq.
3Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Al-nisour University, Baghdad, Iraq.
4Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
5Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Al-nisour University, Baghdad, Iraq.
*Corresponding Author
Published In:
Volume - 19,
Issue - 1,
Year - 2026
ABSTRACT:
Background: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are two examples of the many serious drawbacks of traditional cancer therapies, including their systemic toxicity and lack of cancer cell selectivity. Drug delivery has been transformed by the development of nanotechnology, which has made it possible to create nanoparticles with exact control over their size, shape, and surface characteristics. By functionalizing these nanoparticles with targeting ligands, it is possible to maximize medication accumulation at the tumor location while reducing off-target effects by selectively binding to cancer cell receptors. The object of this review is to conclude and summarize the updated information targeted nanomedicine and it’s its role in cancer drug discovery and treatment. Method: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using electronic databases to identify relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The search terms included "targeted nanomedicine," "precision cancer therapy," "nanoparticle drug delivery," and related keywords. The selected articles were critically evaluated to extract key findings and insights into targeted nanomedicine approaches for cancer therapy. Result: The review highlights the remarkable progress made in the development of targeted nanomedicine platforms for precision cancer therapy. These include nanoparticle formulations for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs, nucleic acid-based therapeutics, and imaging agents. Moreover, innovative strategies such as stimuli-responsive nanoparticles and combination therapy approaches have shown great potential in overcoming drug resistance and improving treatment efficacy. Conclusion: Targeted nanomedicine holds great promise for revolutionizing cancer therapy by enabling the precise delivery of therapeutic agents to tumor tissues while minimizing systemic side effects. Continued research efforts aimed at optimizing nanoparticle design, understanding tumor biology, and translating preclinical findings into clinical applications are crucial for realizing the full potential of targeted nanomedicine in precision cancer therapy.
Cite this article:
Ali Mahmoud Al-Samydai, Israa A. Almastafa, Muntadher Abdulsalam A. Al. Alrabeeah, Alhasan Ali Jabbar, Hany A. Al-hussaniy. Targeted Nanomedicine Approaches for Precision Cancer Therapy. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2026;19(1):472-0. doi: 10.52711/0974-360X.2026.00069
Cite(Electronic):
Ali Mahmoud Al-Samydai, Israa A. Almastafa, Muntadher Abdulsalam A. Al. Alrabeeah, Alhasan Ali Jabbar, Hany A. Al-hussaniy. Targeted Nanomedicine Approaches for Precision Cancer Therapy. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2026;19(1):472-0. doi: 10.52711/0974-360X.2026.00069 Available on: https://www.rjptonline.org/AbstractView.aspx?PID=2026-19-1-69
REFERENCES:
1. Al-Hussaniy H. The Effect of MicroRNA-409-3p for Treatment and Response to Tumor Proliferation of Lung Cancer Cell Lines (In Vitro). Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention: APJCP. 2022; 23(9): 3151–6.
2. Shah F, Rodriguez M. Challenges And Advances In Cancer Research: A Critical Analysis. The Research of Medical Science Review. 2023; 1: 57–65.
3. Mundekkad D, Cho WC. Nanoparticles in clinical translation for cancer therapy. Int J Mol Sci [Internet]. 2022; 23(3): 1685. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031685
4. Yazbeck V, Alesi E, Myers J, Hackney MH, Cuttino L, Gewirtz DA. An overview of chemotoxicity and radiation toxicity in cancer therapy. Adv Cancer Res [Internet]. 2022; 155: 1–27. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2022.03.007
5. Tsimberidou AM, Fountzilas E, Nikanjam M, Kurzrock R. Review of precision cancer medicine: Evolution of the treatment paradigm. Cancer Treat Rev [Internet]. 2020; 86(102019): 102019. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctrv.2020.102019
6. Al-Hassany H, Albu-Rghaif AH, Naji M. Tumor diagnosis by genetic markers protein P-53, p16, C-MYC, N-MYC, protein K-Ras, and gene HER-2 Neu is this possible. Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences. 2021; 15(8): 2350–4.
7. Wang Y, Sun S, Zhang Z, Shi D. Nanomaterials for cancer precision medicine. Adv Mater [Internet]. 2018; 30(17): e1705660. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201705660
8. Wang Z, Run Z, Wang H, He X, Li J. TiO2-Ti3C2 nanocomposites utilize their photothermal activity for targeted treatment of colorectal cancer. Int J Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 19: 1041–54. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/ijn.s446537
9. B. Ssneha. Application of Nanotechnology in Dentistry. Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2014; 7(1): 81-83.
10. Pagar Swati A., Suryawanshi Hemant K.. Nanotechnology- Finding proofs for its ancient origin. Asian J. Res. Pharm. Sci. 2021; 11(1): 65-70.
11. AlHussaniy HA. Medical Scientific Research Challenges in Iraq. Medical Scientific Research Challenges in Iraq Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal. 2023; 2(1): 1–3.
12. Sun Y, Ma X, Hu H. Application of nano-drug delivery system based on cascade technology in cancer treatment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(11): 5698.
13. Pande S. Liposomes for drug delivery: review of vesicular composition, factors affecting drug release and drug loading in liposomes. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology. 2023; 51(1): 428-40.
14. Taima RK. Idiopathic Recurrent Pregnancy Loss related with GPIa gene in Iraqi patient women. Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal. 2023; 2(1): 65–74.
15. Shaaban SM, Gaber Z, Semary S, Dewidar AM. Impact of Vitamin B12 on outcome of Early Stage Luminal A and B Breast Cancer, single center experience. Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal. 2023; 2(1): 17–27.
16. Hadi HM, Shahada AR, Hussein NM, Hussein EHA. Doxorubicin Side Effects and Its Uses a new update: A narrative review. Arabian J Drug Res [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Mar 3]; 1(1): 1–6. Available from: https://pharmacoj.com/ojs/index.php/AJDR/article/view/64
17. Liu P, Chen G, Zhang J. A review of liposomes as a drug delivery system: current status of approved products, regulatory environments, and future perspectives. Molecules. 2022; 27(4): 1372.
18. Alkuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI, Ha A-H. Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity: molecular mechanism and protection by conventional drugs and natural products. Int J Clin Oncol Cancer Res. 2017; 2(2): 31–44.
19. Al-Hussaniy H, Altalebi RR, Albu-Rghaif AH. The Use of PCR for Respiratory Virus Detection on the Diagnosis and Treatment Decision of Respiratory Tract Infections in Iraq. Journal of Pure & Applied Microbiology. 2022; 16(1).
20. Al-Hassany H, Albu-Rghaif AH, Naji M. Tumor diagnosis by genetic markers protein P-53, p16, C-MYC, N-MYC, protein K-Ras, and gene her-2 Neu is this possible. Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences. 2021; 15(8): 2350–4.
21. Al-Hussaniy HA, Mohammed ZN, Alburghaif AH, Naji MA. Panax ginseng as Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory to reduce the Cardiotoxicity of Doxorubicin on rat module. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2022; 15(10): 4594–600.
22. Zhang H, Cai C, Li Q, Nie Z, Wang M, Liu Y, et al. Copper oxide nanoparticles suppress retinal angiogenesis via inducing endothelial cell cuproptosis. Nanomedicine (Lond) [Internet]. 2024; Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/nnm-2023-0301
23. Wu H, Wu X, Zhao M, Yan J, Li C, Zhang Z, et al. Regulating cholesterol in tumorigenesis: A novel paradigm for tumor nanotherapeutics. Int J Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 19: 1055–76. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/ijn.s439828
24. Altalebi RR, Al-Hussaniy HA, Al-Tameemi ZS, Al-Zobaidy MA-H, Albu-Rghaif AH, Alkuraishy HM, et al. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: relation to juvenile obesity, lipid profile, and hepatic enzymes. J Med Life [Internet]. 2023; 16(1): 42–7. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.25122/jml-2022-0091
25. Ahmed MS, Reyadh AR, Shareef BQ, Ali AR, Hany AH, Meena AN. Increasing Prevalence of Congenital Hypothyroidism in children with Down Syndrome who have a family history of Thyroid disease. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2023; 16(3): 1327–32.
26. Al-Hussaniy H, Sameer AH, Oraibi HN. The relationship between statin therapy and adipocytokine/inflammatory mediators in dyslipidemic nondiabetic patients: A comparative study. Pharmacia. 2023; 70: 581–5.
27. Oliveira Silva R, Counil H, Rabanel J-M, Haddad M, Zaouter C, Ben Khedher MR, et al. Donepezil-loaded nanocarriers for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: Superior efficacy of extracellular vesicles over polymeric nanoparticles. Int J Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 19: 1077–96. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/ijn.s449227
28. Elia ZN, Mustafa NW, Ibrahim AL-Mahdawi FK. Kisspeptin 54 as biomarker for breast and ovarian cancer. Al-Nisour Journal for Medical Sciences. 2023; 5(1): 1-3.
29. Adwan KI, AL-Rekabi FM. Synthesis, structural characterization, and in-vitro cytotoxicity of zinc-levofloxacin ligand. Al-Nisour Journal for Medical Sciences. 2025; 7(1): 1-3.
30. Chen W, Ye Q, Dong Y. Long term exercise-derived exosomal LncRNA CRNDE mitigates myocardial infarction injury through miR-489-3p/Nrf2 signaling axis. Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 55: 102717. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2023.102717
31. Li S, Yuan Q, Yang M, Long X, Sun J, Yuan X, et al. Enhanced cartilage regeneration by icariin and mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles combined in alginate-hyaluronic acid hydrogel. Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 55: 102723. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2023.102723
32. Salas-Orozco MF, Lorenzo-Leal AC, de Alba Montero I, Marín NP, Santana MAC, Bach H. Mechanism of escape from the antibacterial activity of metal-based nanoparticles in clinically relevant bacteria: A systematic review. Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 55: 102715. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2023.102715
33. Pensado-López A, Ummarino A, Khan S, Guildford A, Allan IU, Santin M, et al. Synthetic peptides of IL-1Ra and HSP70 have anti-inflammatory activity on human primary monocytes and macrophages: Potential treatments for inflammatory diseases. Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 55: 102719. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2023.102719
34. Navarro N, Aviñó A, Domènech Ò, Borrell JH, Eritja R, Fàbrega C. Defined covalent attachment of three cancer drugs to DNA origami increases cytotoxicity at nanomolar concentration. Nanomedicine [Internet]. 2024; 55: 102722. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2023.102722
35. Al-Hussainy A, Khan MA, Shdefat SA, Ahmed A, Shahabi S. Letter to the editor re: Mental health support for the current and future medical professionals during pandemics. JMA J [Internet]. 2022; 5(1): 167–8. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.31662/jmaj.2021-0171
36. Yogita R. Indalkar, Nayana V. Pimpodkar, Anita S. Godase, Puja S. Gaikwad. A Compressive Review on the Study of Nanotechnology for Herbal Drugs. Asian J. Pharm. Res. 5(4): 2015; 203-207.
37. Roopa M, Arthi Mohan. Novel Approaches in Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery System to Overcome Human Immunodeficiency Virus.Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2019; 12(7): 3189-3196.
38. Durgadevi, Indumathi, Gayathri P.K. Polymeric Nano Medicine for Cancer Therapy-Review. Research J. Engineering and Tech. 2013; 4(4): 264-267.
39. S. Priyadharshini, B. Dhivya. Application of Nanoscience and Technology in Medicine- Nanomedicine. Research J. Engineering and Tech. 2013; 4(4): 300-305.
40. Ritesh Kumar, Amit Kumar Jha and Surendra Kumar Jain. Nanomedicine: An Emerging Area of Nanotechnology. Research J. Pharma. Dosage Forms and Tech. 2009; 1(1): 18-21 .
41. Alquraishi R, Al‐samydai A, Al Azzam KM, Alqaraleh M, Al‐Halaseh L, Sanabrah A, Abu Hajleh MN, Al Khatib A, Alsaher W, Negim ES, Khleifat K. Preparation, characterization and wound‐healing effect of PEGylated nanoliposomes loaded with oleuropein. Biomedical Chromatography. 2023; 37(11): e5716.
42. Leena Sahu, Priyanka Nagwanshi, Prerana Sahu, Anjali Sahu, Gyanesh Sahu, Harish Sharma. Novel Approaches of Treatment of Cancer: Nanoparticle. Res. J. Pharma. Dosage Forms and Tech. 2020; 12(2): 115-124.
43. Chetan Verma, Akshay Janghel, Shraddha Deo, Parijeeta Raut, Divya Bhosle, Shyama S. Kumar, Mukta Agrawal, Nisha Amit, Mukesh Sharma, Tapan Giri, D. K. Tripathi, Ajazuddin, Amit Alexander. A Comprehensive Advancement on Nanomedicines along with its various Biomedical Applications. Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2015; 8(7): 945-957.
44. Al-Samydai A, Nsairat H, Abu Hajleh MN, Aburas B, Akour A, Ata TE, Mahmood TH, Al-Sammarraie TR, Atta R, Ali R, Alazzawi QK. Meta-analysis of nano-phytosomes: unleashing the potential of plant-derived compounds for advancing cancer therapy. Natural Product Research. 2025; 39(16): 4623-42. DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2344182
45. Alqalalwah NA, Abbas MM, Abbas MA, Obeidat R, El-Rayyes R. Genistein potentiated the cytotoxic effect of entinostat in colorectal cancer cell lines. Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2025 May 1; 20(3): 408-15.
46. JANABI HS, LAFI Z, MATALQAH S. Hplc Method Development and Validation for Metformin and Phenyl Butyric Acid and in Vitro Evaluation of Their Pegylated Liposomal Formulation Against Colorectal Cancer. Int J App Pharm. 2025;17(3):228-36.
47. Abdulhamza HM, Farhan MS, Hassan SS, Al-Hussainy HA, Oriabi AI. In silico identification of antiviral compounds for the treatment of chikungunya virus infection: qsar modelling and md simulation analysis. Medicine in Novel Technology and Devices. 2024 Jun 1;22:100304.
48. Iraqi M. Evaluate the antiproliferative impact of Cnicus benedictus L. leaves methanolic extract on cervical cancer in vitro. Iraqi Journal of Pharmacology. 2024 ;1(1):28-37.
49. Hassan T, Farhan MS. Synthesis of New Pyrimidine Derivatives From 3-Acetylcoumarin–Chalcone Hybrid and Evaluation Their Antimicrobial Activitغe their antimicrobial activity y. Iraqi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2024 ;33(1):33-45.
50. Jaafar FR, Abu-Raghif A. Ezetimibe ameliorates clinical parameters, oxidative stress, and adhesion molecules in experimentally induced colitis in male rat models. Opera Medica Et Physiologica. 2023;10(4):103-10.
51. Rafea H, Farhan MS, Fadhil AA. Synthesis of New Ibuprofen Derivatives Containing (Oxothiazolidin-3-yl) Amino Moiety with Expected Biological Activity. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy. 2020 Dec 1;11(12):1851–1856
52. Jaafar FR, Attarbashee RK, Abu-Raghif AR, Ridha-Salman H. Gemifloxacin ameliorates acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis via modulation of inflammatory, oxidative, and adhesive biomarkers and histopathological changes in rats. Journal of Molecular Histology. 2025 Aug;56(4):250.
53. Hasan͙ AE, Taqa LR, Saeed GT. Correlation of body mass index with tissue Doppler parameters in obese middle age subjects. Ann Trop Med Public Health. 2020;23:S18.
54. Abbas JM, Tawfeeq TA, Al-hussaniy HA, Altimari US. Green synthesis of copper nanoparticles using Daucus carota leaf extract and their anticancer activity against Hep3B liver cancer cells. PHARMACIA. 2025;72:1-1.
55. Al-Hafidh AH, Saeed GT, Goral FL. Comparison of lean body mass& body fat mass in pre and postmenopausal women in Baghdad teaching hospital with their impact on bone mineral density. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. 2018; 10(12): 3124.