Co-delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and cell cycle regulatory agents using nanocarriers for cancer therapy

Combination chemotherapy is widely exploited to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) and enhance the therapeutic effect of anti-tumor agents clinically. The traditional combination regimens applied in clinical practice still suffer from various obstacles, such as inevitable side effects. Fortunately, the application of nanotechnology and the proposal of co-delivery systems make the combination therapy more effective. The occurrence, development, and metastasis of tumors are closely related to the cell cycle. The sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs can be improved with the cooperation of cell cycle regulators. In this review, the influence of the cell cycle on tumorigenesis and development is introduced briefly. The current strategies of combining chemotherapeutic drugs and cell cycle regulators through co-delivery systems are discussed in detail. We also sketch the possibility of treating tumors mildly via artificially controlling the cell cycle and outline the challenges and perspectives about the improvement of co-delivery systems for cancer therapy.