Nanomaterials for Tumor Hypoxia Relief to Improve the Efficacy of ROS-Generated Cancer Therapy.

Given the fact that excessive levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA, various ROS-generating agents and strategies have been explored to induce cell death and tumor destruction by generating ROS above toxic threshold. Unfortunately, hypoxia in tumor microenvironment (TME) not only promotes tumor metastasis but also enhances tumor resistance to the ROS-generated cancer therapies, thus leading to ineffective therapeutic outcomes. A variety of nanotechnology-based approaches that generate or release O continuously to overcome hypoxia in TME have showed promising results to improve the efficacy of ROS-generated cancer therapy.