Nanomedicine Targeting Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Prostate Cancer: From Biological Mechanisms to Integrated Theranostic Strategies

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common malignancy in men worldwide. Advanced stages are characterized by tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, and resistance to androgen deprivation therapy and chemotherapy. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the predominant stromal cells in the PCa tumor microenvironment (TME), critically drive tumor progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Nanomedicine represents a transformative strategy for targeting CAFs. It leverages engineered nanomaterials to achieve precise drug delivery, improved bioavailability, and multimodal theranostic capabilities, which integrate diagnosis with therapy. This review comprehensively examines advances in nanomaterial-based strategies for CAF-targeted therapy in PCa. We first delineate the biology of CAFs in PCa, encompassing their origins, activation mechanisms, key markers (e.g, α-SMA and FAP), phenotypic heterogeneity, and intricate crosstalk with cancer cells, immune cells, and the extracellular matrix (ECM). We then evaluate nanomaterial-based targeting strategies and therapeutic modalities, including CAF depletion, reprogramming, and extracellular matrix remodeling, for the treatment of PCa. Subsequently, we discuss CAF-targeted nanoplatforms for theranostics, including molecular imaging probes (e.g., 68 Ga-FAPI) and image-guided delivery systems that integrate precise diagnosis with therapy

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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