Water soluble polymers in tumor targeted delivery

The rationales for the use of water soluble polymers for anticancer drug de livery include: the potential to overcome some forms of multidrug; resistan ce. preferential accumulation in solid tumors due to enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, biorecognizability. and targetability. The util ity of a novel paradigm for the treatment of ovarian carcinoma in an experi mental animal model. which combines chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy w ith polymer-bound anticancer drugs is explained. Research and clinical appl ications as well as directions for the future development of macromolecular therapeutics are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.