From Pathogens to Therapeutics: Harnessing Parasite Nanomaterials in Precision Oncology

Parasites are one of the pathogens' threats to human and animal health, yet emerging evidence reveals their paradoxical potential as valuable therapeutic agents in oncology. Parasitic derivatives demonstrate remarkable tumor specificity, selectively eliminating malignant cells while sparing normal tissues. This review systematically summarizes the antitumor mechanisms and applications of major protozoan and helminth parasites investigated to date. The reviewed evidence is derived from in vitro cell-based assays and syngeneic mouse tumor models. Key mechanisms encompass immunomodulation of host immunity to generate an antitumor microenvironment, selective suppression of tumor angiogenesis, and molecular mimicry that triggers targeted apoptosis in cancer cells. We examine the scientific rationale for developing parasite-based biologics as a novel class of anticancer therapeutics, highlight their unique advantages and biosafety concerns relative to conventional treatment modalities, and discuss recent efforts to integrate them with nanotechnology.