Advanced Materials for Biologics Delivery to Brain Tumors.

Abstract

Brain cancer remains a major global health challenge due to its high morbidity and mortality. Current standard therapies are often limited by incomplete tumor resection, systemic toxicity, and the inability to effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which restricts drug delivery to the tumor site. These challenges underscore the urgent need for innovative therapeutic strategies that can overcome these barriers and improve treatment outcomes. Biological materials encompass a diverse range of molecules, from small peptides to monoclonal antibodies, either derived from living organisms or synthetically synthesized. Unlike traditional therapies, biologics provide a more targeted approach, including specific tumor targeting, immune system modulation, and regenerating damaged cells. Although biologics offer significant promise for brain cancer treatment, major challenges associated with blood-brain and tumour barriers continue to limit their translation, and comprehensive reviews bridging therapeutic advances with delivery technologies remain scarce. While individual biologic classes have been extensively studied, a unified assessment of these modalities and their delivery optimization is still needed. This review addresses the current gap by critically examining recent advances in biologic therapies and evaluating emerging invasive and non-invasive delivery strategies to enhance their therapeutic efficacy in brain cancer.