Nano to micro delivery systems: Targeting angiogenesis in brain tumors

Abstract

Treating brain tumors using inhibitors of angiogenesis is extensively researched and tested in clinical trials. Although anti-angiogenic treatment holds a great potential for treating primary and secondary brain tumors, no clinical treatment is currently approved for brain tumor patients. One of the main hurdles in treating brain tumors is the blood brain barrier - a protective barrier of the brain, which prevents drugs from entering the brain parenchyma. As most therapeutics are excluded from the brain there is an urgent need to develop delivery platforms which will bypass such hurdles and enable the delivery of anti-angiogenic drugs into the tumor bed. Such delivery systems should be able to control release the drug or a combination of drugs at a therapeutic level for the desired time. In this mini-review we will discuss the latest improvements in nano and micro drug delivery platforms that were designed to deliver inhibitors of angiogenesis to the brain. © 2010 Gilert and Machluf; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.