Glioblastoma chemotherapeutic agents used in the clinical setting and in clinical trials: Nanomedicine approaches to improve their efficacy

[Display omitted] •Nanomedicine shows potential to improve brain drug delivery.•Chemotherapeutics have been encapsulated into nanocarriers for glioblastoma treatment.•Doxorubicin and liposomes are the most frequent drug and carrier tested preclinically.•Several nanocarriers have entered clinical trials for glioblastoma treatment. Even though substantial advances in understanding glioma pathogenesis have prompted a more rational design of potential therapeutic strategies, glioblastoma multiforme remains an incurable disease with the lowest median overall survival among all malignant brain tumours. Therefore, there is a dire need to find novel drug delivery strategies to improve the current dismal survival outcomes. In this context, nanomedicine offers an appealing alternative as it shows potential to improve brain drug delivery. Accordingly, we here review nanomedicine-based drug delivery strategies tested in orthotopic animal models of glioblastoma intended to improve the efficacy of the drug candidates that are currently used in the clinical setting or that have entered clinical trials for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. We also outline the future perspectives of nanotechnology to provide emerging glioblastoma treatment with broad translational clinical potential based on the nanocarriers that have already entered the clinical trials stage for the treatment of malignant glioma.