Activatable Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment. Nanobiotix

Abstract

With almost 150,000 deaths every year in France (26 times more than on the roads), cancers represent the second cause of mortality after cardiovascular disease. In 2002, 10 million new cases of cancer were registered in the world and there were 6 million deaths (of which 40% in developed countries). Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts a significant increase in the number of new cases between now and 2020 (+40% in developed countries and +100% in developing countries), due mainly to longer life expectations, change in behaviour, and degradation of the environment. The word ‘cancer’ is a generic term covering a group of more than a hundred diseases, all characterised by the organism losing control over the proliferation of certain cells. These cells then develop in an anarchic way, eventually constituting a tumour which invades surrounding tissue and in many cases ends up disseminating to distant tissues (metastases).