Design and Functionalization of Nanoparticles for Targeted Gene Delivery and tumor screening

The present study primarily focuses on the investigation of EGFR-positive tumors, characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and increased growth, as observed in malignancies such as breast cancer and melanoma. Breast cancer is stated to be the most prevalent cancer among women globally, characterized by its biological diversity in terms of molecular subtypes such as luminal A/B, HER2-positive and triple negative. These subtypes have different epidemiological risk factors, different natural histories, and different responses to treatments1. The continuing decrease in mortality from breast cancer has been attributed to early detection due to screening, improved adjuvant therapy, and more recently to decreases in the incidence due to lowered rates of usage of hormone replacement therapy. While luminal A/B and HER2-positive types are characterized by the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and amplification of HER-2/Neu, the latter group of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) based on the lack of these three molecular markers. TNBC represents 10–15% of the cases in all types of breast cancer and has poorer outcomes compared to the other types. TNBC, defined by the absence of ER, PR, and HER2 expression, lacks common therapeutic targets, limiting treatment options. Notably, TNBC cells often overexpress EGFR, which has merged as a potential alternative target for therapeutic intervention in this aggressive breast cancer subtype