ABSTRACT
Cancer is a leading cause of death in the world, with 10 million new diagnosed patients every year ending in 6 million deaths annually, which is 12% of all death causes. e total cost for cancer management in the United States is estimated to be $157 million. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be 15 million new cases every year (Brannon-Peppas and Blanchette 2004, Feng et al. 2005). However, it was reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the rate of death from cancer has remained unchanged between the years 1950 and 2001 in the United States (Feng et al. 2005). is suggests that although many steps have been taken to improve the e cacy of cancer therapy, a substantial progress has not been reached in the treatment of cancer. ough chemotherapy is successful to some extent, most current anticancer drugs do not greatly di erentiate between cancerous and normal cells. us, in the process of killing cancer cells, chemotherapeutic agents also damage healthy tissues leading to systemic toxicity and adverse side e ects. is is a crucial parameter limiting the maximum allowable dose for chemotherapeutic drugs and reduces patient compliance to a signi cant extent.
