Nanotechnology-Assisted Starvation Treatment Against Malignant Tumors

Starvation therapy has been proposed as a new anti-cancer therapy that can starve tumor cells and inhibit tumor growth by limiting the supply of nutrition or varying metabolic pathways. This approach has ignited considerable interest in medical and scientific communities due to its unparalleled safety. Of note, with the progress made in nanomedicine and nanotechnology, recent state-of-the-art studies have focused on designing smart and precise nanoplatforms capable of realizing and monitoring tumor starvation therapy and establishing starvation therapy-based synergistic strategies. These will be discussed in this review. Moreover, the potential challenges with regard to starvation therapy are also described, aiming to advance the development of starvation therapy in both the clinical and basic research areas.