Normalizing tumor microenvironment provide unprecedented opportunity for improving nanomedicine

Cancer is one of the major causes of death all over the world. Currently, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are in vogue in cancer therapies. However, post-surgery complication, adverse effect of radiotherapy, and low efficacy with drug resistance in chemotherapy are still big challenges. Currently, as a new therapeutic strategy in cancer, nanomedicine has shown its potential, but several limitations caused by inefficient delivery hamper its development. Tumor microenvironment plays critical role in tumorigenesis, and its properties such as hypoxia, high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and low tumor blood flow (TBF) limit the delivery of nano-scale therapeutic agents. Nevertheless, a new theory suggests that tumor microenvironment could be normalized by anti-angiogenic drugs, and which eventually improves cancer therapeutic outcome. In this review, we focus on the promising prospects of nanomedicines in terms of normalizing tumor microenvironment.