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Adaptive smart biomaterials to overcome metastatic tumor microenvironment heterogeneity: Theranostic strategies and clinical translation roadmaps
Aqsa Mehreen
Imran Khan Yousafzai
Maryam Faiz
Hawaida Ahmed
Characterization and Application of Nanomaterials 2025, 8(4); https://doi.org/10.24294/can11919
Submitted:14 Nov 2025
Accepted:17 Nov 2025
Published:29 Dec 2025
Abstract

Over 90% of cancer-related mortality worldwide is due to metastatic disease since the dynamic tumor microenvironment poses huge challenges in preventing the spread of metastatic cancer. Introducing the advent of advance biomaterials and their swift evolution, this review highlights the great potential of innovative biomaterials to proficiently tackle the metastatic tumor environment. Focusing on four distinct categories of biomaterials systems, action mechanism of biomaterials utilized in anti-tumor therapy is explained in detail: 1. Nanoplatforms sensitive to biochemical cues including pH, redox, and enzymes are known as stimuli-responsive nanoplatforms that react according their environment, 2. Smart nanoplatforms changing their morphology to penetrate impermeable physical barriers at tumor site, 3. Ingenious biomaterial participating in tumor normalization, and 4. Nanoplatforms with real-time theranostic capabilities due to innate feedback-loop mechanism. Ingeniously structured biomaterials with extensive evidence in preclinical efficacy encourage their inclusion in metastatic tumor therapy however, their utilization in medical settings is prevented due to various challenges; impractical manufacturing cost, regulatory and safety issues as well as large-scale production are major challenges restraining their widespread use. A concrete framework is proposed in this review to accelerate the biomaterial structure standardization process, following the GMP and other regulatory guidelines with the aim of implementing biomaterial-based tumor diagnostics and therapies. Since incorporating advancing technologies in tumor therapy such AI-driven, autonomous biomaterial structure or patient-specific tumor models would enable confront the proliferating metastatic tumor cases.


© 2025 by the EnPress Publisher, LLC. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

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