Brain tumor poses a serious burden to healthcare as the disease is usually incurable despite treatment strategies such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in clinics. Most studies that reports specific drugs to be effective in vitro loses its therapeutic value when in vivo studies are considered. Maintaining the therapeutic concentrations of drugs as it reaches the cancer target is prerequisite for the efficacy of any form of treatment. However, in the case of brain tumors, the blood brain barrier (BBB) acts as a physical and physiological barrier which complicates its treatment options. In addition, these strategies are limited by a number of factors such as difficulties associated with targeting tumor cells among others. The therapeutic potential of targeted drug delivery as an alternative to current strategies are gaining significant grounds as many studies highlight its efficacy and compatibility overcoming the BBB before reaching its final target within the brain. In this review, we briefly describe the basic physiology associated with the blood brain barrier and how modern science takes advantage of these physiological process to delivery anti-cancer agents to the brain. We also summarize the different modes of drug delivery and highlight how nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles are being utilized for drug transport in brain tumors and the different types of surface modification used to increase its target potential.

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探索针对脑肿瘤的药物治疗相关的治疗进展和策略

脑肿瘤给医疗保健带来了沉重负担，因为尽管采用了诸如外科手术，放射疗法和化学疗法等治疗策略，但这种疾病通常无法治愈。当考虑进行体内研究时，大多数报道特定药物在体外有效的研究都失去了治疗价值。在达到癌症靶标时保持药物的治疗浓度是任何形式治疗效果的前提。但是，在脑肿瘤的情况下，血脑屏障（BBB）充当了生理和生理屏障，这使其治疗选择变得复杂。另外，这些策略受到许多因素的限制，例如与靶向肿瘤细胞相关的困难。靶向药物输送作为当前策略的替代方法的治疗潜力正在获得重要基础，因为许多研究都强调了在达到大脑中的最终靶点之前，其功效和相容性可以克服BBB。在这篇综述中，我们简要描述了与血脑屏障相关的基本生理学，以及现代科学如何利用这些生理过程将抗癌药输送到大脑。我们还总结了药物递送的不同模式，并重点介绍了如何将纳米颗粒作为药物递送载体用于脑肿瘤中的药物运输以及用于提高其靶标潜力的不同类型的表面修饰。在这篇综述中，我们简要描述了与血脑屏障相关的基本生理学，以及现代科学如何利用这些生理过程将抗癌药输送到大脑。我们还总结了药物递送的不同模式，并重点介绍了如何将纳米颗粒作为药物递送载体用于脑肿瘤中的药物运输以及用于提高其靶标潜力的不同类型的表面修饰。在这篇综述中，我们简要描述了与血脑屏障相关的基本生理学，以及现代科学如何利用这些生理过程将抗癌药输送到大脑。我们还总结了药物递送的不同模式，并重点介绍了如何将纳米颗粒作为药物递送载体用于脑肿瘤中的药物运输以及用于提高其靶标潜力的不同类型的表面修饰。