Magnetic nanoparticles for hyperthermia in cancer treatment: an emerging tool

International audienceAccording to a statistical survey conducted by the Global Cancer Observatory (a division of the World Health Organization),cancer remains as the major cause of death worldwide. The main reason why available therapies fail is that a “vicious cycle” inestablished which initiates multiple pathways and recurrence after metastasis. Hyperthermic treatment, which involves heating tumor tissues to a moderate temperature of 40–43 °C, has emerged as an effective strategy for treating tumors. This method ishighly efficient at destroying tumor cells and does not induce the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. On the otherhand, hyperthermic treatment method can be co-administered with conventional treatments. Nanotechnology had created hugeopportunities in almost all areas of research, including the field of hyperthermic treatment. The utilization of magnetic nanopar-ticles (MNPs) offers functionalities not possible using conventional magnetic materials. In this review, we detail recent devel-opments and applications of MNPs for hyperthermic treatment and discuss future possibilities