Engineered nanomedicine targets liver cancer stem cells to treat liver cancer disease

Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are a population of cells with self-renewal and self-differentiation capacities, widely recognized as critical for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Accordingly, eliminating LCSCs is considered a viable strategy for HCC treatment. However, conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy struggle to eradicate LCSCs, underscoring the critical need for LCSC-targeted therapies. Nanotechnology offers unique advantages for LCSC targeting <i>via</i> the selective delivery of drugs to tumor sites. Various engineered nanomedicines-including polymeric nanoparticles, biological nanomaterials, and inorganic nanoparticles-have been developed for their elimination. This article primarily reviews the biological concepts and biomarkers of LCSCs. In addition, it summarizes various strategies for targeting LCSCs using engineered nanomedicines.