Recent Advances and Strategies in Tumor Vasculature Targeted Nano-Drug Delivery Systems

In recent decades, targeted nano-drug delivery systems have attracted extensive attention in cancer therapy for their efficient drug delivery and tumor site specificity. Tumor vasculature, including angiogenesis and vasculogenic mimicry is associated tightly with tumor growth, progression and metastasis. Therefore, nano-drug delivery systems targeting tumor vasculature are becoming a promising approach for tumor treatment. As complicated mechanisms and various factors are involved in the tumor vasculature, different ligands modified on the surface of nanocarriers acquire active targeting through binding to the receptors over-expressed by cancer cells or angiogenic endothelial cells. In this review, the tumor vasculature characteristics are briefly described and the recent advances and potential strategies in tumor vasculature targeted nano-drug delivery systems are introduced.