Application of targeted drug delivery based on nano platform in diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract, with an estimated 550,000 new cases occurring worldwide each year. Despite aggressive treatment of these patients, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, 70% of patients have tumor recurrence within 5 years. This suggests that conventional treatments have a limited role in inhibiting the progression of bladder cancer. As a result, novel diagnostic strategies and treatment options are being explored. Significant advancements in the design and use of nanotechnology for the treatment of cancer have been done recently. The advantage of nano drug delivery systems is that they are more penetrating and targeted than conventional therapeutic modalities. The application of a variety of drug carriers derived from nanoplatforms has opened up new horizons for bladder cancer precision treatment. This review first summarises recent advances in smart nanotechnology for the diagnosis of bladder cancer, including urinalysis and imaging. Ongoing research on therapeutic approaches based on nano-targeted drug delivery technology is then discussed. Finally, we discuss the main challenges and prospects for the clinical translation of nanomedicines.