Theranostic Platforms Proposed for Cancerous Stem Cells: A Review

It is next-to-impossible not to accept that cancer takes a position as the main cause of the global burden of disease, for it is hard to ignore the outnumbered people dying from cancer. Looking at the statistics proves that progress in cancer therapy is always beyond cancer in a race of pessimism about the future; for various kinds of cancers yearly cause death in the world, whereas the conventional and even modern therapies often exhibit lack of reliability in the treatment of cancer. In principle, various reasons are identified for cancer resistance and recurrence. Recognizing the cells/tissue from which cancer takes origin enables its early detection, and optimistically saying, protection of patients against death. It has been recognized that cancer stem cells are responsible for cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. Conventional therapies cannot eradicate the cancer stem cell; therefore, cancer recurrence is unavoidable. In this regards, designing smart platforms with specific properties is an essential step in cancer treatment. Theranostic platforms have facilitated the cancer diagnosis and treatment, simultaneously. In this respect, several types of smart materials have been designed to detect and cure cancer. Cancer stem cell as a root of the cancerous tumor should be eradicated to achieve the complete treatment; hence, cancer stem cell mechanism must be known precisely to design an appropriate platform making possible to encounter with cancer stem cell. In this review paper, various therapeutic and diagnostic techniques of cancerous stem cell are discussed to pave a way for designing proper platforms for cancer eradication.