Aptamer technology: a new approach to treat lymphoma?

Abstract

Oligonucleotide aptamers are a class of small-molecule ligands. Functionally similar to protein antibodies, aptamers can specifically bind to their targets with high affinity. Biomedical studies have revealed the potential clinical value of aptamer technology for disease diagnosis and targeted therapy. Lymphoma is a group of cancers originating from the lymphatic system. Currently, chemotherapy is the primary treatment for lymphoma, although it may cause serious side effects in patients due to lack of target specificity. Here, we selectively discuss the recent development of potential applications of aptamer technology for precision lymphoma therapy, which are able to not only achieve high therapeutic efficacy but also do not cause off-target side effects.