1. ¹BWH-HST Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2. ²Biological Engineering Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
3. ³Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Correspondence: Dr S Sengupta, E-mail: shiladit@MIT.edu; Professor R Sasisekharan, E-mail: rams@MIT.edu

Received 26 July 2006; Revised 23 February 2007; Accepted 28 February 2007; Published online 3 April 2007.

Abstract

Nanotechnology is increasingly finding use in the management of cancer. Nanoscale devices have impacted cancer biology at three levels: early detection using, for example, nanocantilevers or nanoparticles; tumour imaging using radiocontrast nanoparticles or quantum dots; and drug delivery using nanovectors and hybrid nanoparticles. This review addresses some of the major milestones in the integration of nanotechnology and cancer biology, and the future of nanoscale approaches for cancer management.