Cancer continues to be one of the most challenging diseases to be treated and is one of the leading causes of deaths around the globe. Cancers account for 13% of all deaths each year, with cancer-related mortality expected to rise to 13.1 million by the year 2030. Although, we now have a large library of chemotherapeutic agents, the problem of non-selectivity remains the biggest drawback, as these substances are toxic not only to cancerous cells, but also to other healthy cells in the body. The limitations with chemotherapy and radiation have led to the discovery and development of novel strategies for safe and effective treatment strategies to manage the menace of cancer. Researchers have long justified and have shed light on the emergence of nanotechnology as a potential area for cancer therapy and diagnostics, whereby, nanomaterials are used primarily as nanocarriers or as delivery agents for anticancer drugs due to their tumor targeting properties. Furthermore, nanocarriers loaded with chemotherapeutic agents also overcome biological barriers such as renal and hepatic clearances, thus improving therapeutic efficacy with lowered morbidity. Theranostics, which is the combination of rationally designed nanomaterials with cancer-targeting moieties, along with protective polymers and imaging agents has become one of the core keywords in cancer research. In this review, we have highlighted the potential of various nanomaterials for their application in cancer therapy and imaging, including their current state and clinical prospects. Theranostics has successfully paved a path to a new era of drug design and development, in which nanomaterials and imaging contribute to a large variety of cancer therapies and provide a promising future in the effective management of various cancers. However, in order to meet the therapeutic needs, theranostic nanomaterials must be designed in such a way, that take into account the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of the drug for the development of effective carcinogenic therapy.

癌症仍然是要治疗的最具挑战性的疾病之一，也是全球死亡的主要原因之一。癌症占每年所有死亡的13％，到2030年，与癌症相关的死亡率预计将上升到1310万。尽管我们现在拥有庞大的化学治疗药库，但是非选择性问题仍然是最大的缺点，因为这些物质不仅对癌细胞有毒，而且对体内其他健康细胞也有毒。化学疗法和放射疗法的局限性导致发现并开发了用于安全有效地治疗癌症威胁的新型治疗策略。研究人员长期以来一直在辩解，并阐明了纳米技术作为癌症治疗和诊断的潜在领域的出现，从而，纳米材料由于其靶向肿瘤的特性而主要用作纳米载体或抗癌药物的递送剂。此外，载有化学治疗剂的纳米载体还克服了诸如肾脏和肝脏清除的生物学障碍，从而提高了治疗功效并降低了发病率。Theranostics是将合理设计的纳米材料与靶向癌症的部分相结合，以及保护性聚合物和显像剂的组合，已成为癌症研究的核心关键词之一。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了各种纳米材料在癌症治疗和成像中的应用潜力，包括它们的现状和临床前景。Theranostics成功地为药物设计和开发的新时代铺平了道路，其中纳米材料和成像技术有助于多种癌症治疗，并为各种癌症的有效治疗提供了广阔的前景。然而，为了满足治疗需求，必须以这样的方式设计治疗性纳米材料，其考虑到药物的药代动力学和药效学性质以开发有效的致癌疗法。