Aptamers in Cancer Research, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides identified from random nucleic acid sequence libraries. They can form unique and versatile tertiary structures, binding to their homologous molecules with exceptional specificity. Their advantages, including small size, excellent chemical stability, and low immunogenicity, make them comparable to antibodies in cancer imaging, detection, and therapeutic applications.

Aptamers' straightforward chemical synthesis, versatility in structural design and engineering, and the ability to perform site-specific modifications of functional parts make them excellent recognition materials for cancer biomarker discovery and detection. Additionally, aptamers can be selected or engineered to regulate cancer protein functions and guide anticancer drug design or screening.

This review summarizes aptamers' applications in cancer, including cancer biomarker discovery and detection, cancer imaging, cancer therapy, and anticancer drug discovery. Although these applications are relatively new, the significant progress achieved indicates broad prospects for aptamers in cancer research.

Reference：

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25561050/