Synergistic triple drug co-loaded nanoplatforms for improved cancer treatment

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Current therapies often have relevant limitations, including low selectivity to tumor tissues, leading to systemic toxicity, and treatment resistance development. In recent years, however, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising approach to improving drug delivery, offering enhanced tumor targeting, better pharmacokinetics and fewer side effects. Additionally, making use of different pharmacological action mechanisms, delivering more than one drug molecule simultaneously can lead to synergistic or additive therapeutic effects. In this context, a scientific literature review was performed, exploring experimental studies that use nanocarriers for triple drug co-delivery in cancer treatment. The analyzed studies employed well-established chemotherapeutic agents and non-classical anticancer agents, such as 2′-deoxy-5-fluorouridine 5′-monophosphate, 5-fluorouracil, alpha-lipoic acid, camptothecin, chlorambucil, cisplatin, combretastatin A4, crizotinib, curcumin, doxorubicin, ellagic acid, erastin, fluvastatin, gemcitabine, honokiol, irinotecan, leucovorin, palbociclib, paclitaxel, pemetrexed, rosuvastatin, sildenafil, silybin, small interfering RNA against programmed death-ligand 1 platinum-based cross-linker, tariquidar, verteporfin, and zinc(II) phthalocyanine. These therapeutic agents were formulated within nanocarriers such as polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, PEGylated liposomes, lipid–polymer hybrids and inorganic nanoparticles. Each nanocarrier type offers specific advantages in terms of drug loading, drug release control and targeting ability. Overall, this review supports the idea that triple-drug nanocarrier-based strategies are powerful, evolving tools for developing more effective cancer therapies. These strategies offer enhanced synergistic effects, increased therapeutic precision and the potential to modulate the tumor microenvironment.