DNA nanostructures have been evolving ever since the development of self-assembling DNA tile-based structures in the 1980s. DNA origami technology developed by Rothemund in 2006 simplified the synthesis process of DNA nanostructures, while simultaneously upgrading the complexity, size, and the flexibility of these structures to a great extent. DNA nanostructures possess extraordinary features, such as controllable appearance, biocompatibility, and a capacity for diverse modifications, due to which they are considered an ideal tool for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The present review describes the classification of DNA nanostructures into three categories based on their structural features and construction methods, and summarizes their performance in cancer treatment. It was established that DNA nanostructures serve as reliable carriers of chemotherapy drugs and therapeutic genes, and exhibit great compatibility with inorganic materials such as gold nanoparticles. Cancer treatment using DNA nanostructures has presented positive results in vitro as well as in vivo, and studies exploring further comparisons among the different structures are expected in future research.

自1980年代基于DNA瓦片的自组装结构发展以来，DNA纳米结构一直在发展。Rothemund在2006年开发的DNA折纸技术简化了DNA纳米结构的合成过程，同时在很大程度上提高了这些结构的复杂性，大小和灵活性。DNA纳米结构具有非凡的功能，例如可控的外观，生物相容性和多种修饰能力，因此，它们被认为是癌症诊断和治疗的理想工具。本综述基于其结构特征和构建方法将DNA纳米结构分为三类，并总结了它们在癌症治疗中的性能。已经确定，DNA纳米结构可作为化学疗法药物和治疗基因的可靠载体，并且与无机材料（如金纳米颗粒）具有很好的相容性。使用DNA纳米结构进行的癌症治疗在体内和体外均显示出了积极的结果，在未来的研究中有望进行探索不同结构之间进一步比较的研究。