Tumor vasculature vs tumor cell targeting: Understanding the latest trends in using functional nanoparticles for cancer treatment

Delivering drugs to tumors using nanoparticles (NPs) has shown promising potential in promoting targeted drug delivery of antineoplastic agents to enhance their efficiency while reducing the associated systemic toxicity. This review highlights the different types of NPs and the physiological characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME), and the mechanisms undertaken to safely deliver drugs to specific lesions. We review the principles and latest developments in the field of targeted NPs designed to target tumor vasculature compared to those designed to target cancer cells and their correlation with the TME. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each targeted drug delivery mechanism and future directions aiming to maximize their potential.