Cancer is a disease that is difficult to treat effectively worldwide and is also one of the main causes of death for many patients. Its complex biological characteristics and pathological mechanisms pose significant challenges, limiting the effectiveness and safety of traditional treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) demonstrate great potential in the field of precise cancer therapy due to their unique tunability, high porosity, and versatility. This review focuses on the application of MOF materials constructed from metal ions such as copper, iron, manganese, zirconium, titanium, and cerium in the biomedical field. The inherent properties of different metals have distinct effects in the tumor microenvironment, such as depleting glutathione (GSH) content, catalyzing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposition, Fenton catalytic action, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) effects, enhanced electron transfer efficiency, redox catalysis, and enzyme-like catalytic ability. Therefore, it is necessary to elaborate and analyze in detail the effective treatment of tumors by MOF materials constructed with different metals as well as the development of intelligent biomimetic nanomaterials with different properties. In addition, various application methods of MOF materials in cancer treatment were also discussed, including photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), sonodynamic therapy (SDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), and synergistic therapy, aiming to more effectively apply different types of MOF materials to tumor treatment and achieve higher therapeutic effects. Finally, the prospects and challenges of combining an MOF based on different metal ions with other treatment strategies in cancer treatment were explored, providing theoretical support and inspiration for the development of the next generation of intelligent diagnostic and therapeutic platforms.
Wen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.