Injectable hydrogels for anti-tumour treatment: a review

Injectable hydrogels have become the material of choice for the treatment of solid tumours based on their advantages in loading anti-tumour materials. This study reviews the main scientific research achievements on anti-tumour injectable hydrogels in recent years. The gel-forming mechanism of anti-tumour injectable hydrogels was listed, and the advantages and difficulties of each gel-forming mechanism were summarised. In addition, several current anti-tumour methods based on injectable hydrogels were discussed, including chemotherapy, hyperthermia-based therapy, catalytic therapy and immune therapy, as well as the integration of diagnosis and treatment to monitor the progress of cancer treatment. The anti-tumour mechanism and the advantages and disadvantages of various tumour treatments were analysed. Finally, the future development trend of injectable hydrogels for anti-tumour therapy was discussed.