Nanotechnology for Diagnostic and Treatment of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is one of the ten most common cancers in the world. Unfortunately, conventional strategies for diagnosis and treatment have proven inadequate. Therefore, it is essential to explore new approaches to enhance both diagnosis and treatment. In recent years, nanotechnology has attracted interest in the medical field. Nanoparticles possess excellent physical and chemical properties, presenting significant potential for applications in cancer imaging, biomarker detection, and tracing for diagnosis, as well as targeted delivery for treatment through surface functionalization. Nowadays, a variety of nanoparticles have been developed, including quantum dots, metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and polymers. Due to their unique optical and magnetic properties, certain nanoparticles can be utilized in photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment. The integration of conventional approaches with nanotechnology greatly improves the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer. In this review, we aim to discuss the applications of nanotechnology and introduce several types of nanoparticles used in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.