# Stem cell technology for antitumor drug loading and delivery in oncology

## TL;DR

This paper explores using stem cells to deliver cancer drugs more effectively, aiming to improve treatment while reducing side effects.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in proposing mesenchymal stromal cells as natural carriers for targeted antitumor drug delivery.

## Key findings

- Mesenchymal stromal cells can selectively release drugs to malignant cells.
- This approach may reduce damage to healthy cells and adverse side effects.
- Phase I clinical studies are needed to confirm the potential in lung cancers.

## Abstract

The main aim of antineoplastic treatment is to maximize patient benefit by augmenting the drug accumulation within affected organs and tissues, thus incrementing drug effects and, at the same time, reducing the damage of non-involved tissues to cytotoxic agents. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) represent a group of undifferentiated multipotent cells presenting wide self-renewal features and the capacity to differentiate into an assortment of mesenchymal family cells. During the last year, they have been proposed as natural carriers for the selective release of antitumor drugs to malignant cells, thus optimizing cytotoxic action on cancer cells, while significantly reducing adverse side effects on healthy cells. MSC chemotherapeutic drug loading and delivery is an encouraging new area of cell therapy for several tumors, especially for those with unsatisfactory prognosis and limited treatment options available. Although some experimental models have been successfully developed, phase I clinical studies are needed to confirm this potential application of cell therapy, in particular in the case of primary and secondary lung cancers.