Advance in construction of ferroptosis-inducing nanomedicine for cancer therapy

Ferroptosis is a cell death path for the abnormal accumulation of iron dependent reactive oxygen species, which leads to the dysregulation of redox homeostasis. As a new type of cancer treatments, ferroptosis has attracted extensive attention of researchers. With the development of nanoscience, various functional nanomaterials can produce H₂O₂, exhaust glutathione, and gather Fenton reaction catalysts in tumor site. Therefore, these nanomaterials can play a stronger role in tumor inhibition in coordination with the ferroptosis-inducing agents. Firstly, this paper introduced the mechanism of ferroptosis and the feasibility of ferroptosis-inducing strategy in cancer therapy. Secondly, we summarized the construction strategies of the ferroptosis-inducing nanomedicines for cancer therapy, including accelerating intracellular Fenton reaction, inhibiting the activity of glutathione peroxidase 4, and increasing the exogenous delivery of lipid peroxides. In addition, we also discussed the combination therapy based on ferroptosis, including the combination of ferroptosis with traditional therapy strategies (combined with apoptosis-inducing drugs, immunotherapy and gene therapy) and external energy (including ultrasound therapy and photodynamic therapy). Finally, the expectations and challenges of ferroptosis-inducing nanomedicines for cancer therapy in the future were discussed.