Oral delivery of chemotherapeutic agents: background and potential of drug delivery systems for colon delivery

Chemotherapy and the use of chemotherapeutic agents have become routine in first line defense in the battle against cancer. In its current state, chemotherapy has only advanced in terms of new drugs and modifying existing drugs, but there is still a need for improved delivery methods, particularly oral delivery. The oral delivery of chemotherapeutics could greatly change the common practice of using intravenous injections and ultimately provide improved patient care, comfort, reduction in healthcare costs, and reduction in side effects. We offer here a position paper on the importance of oral chemotherapeutic methods. We believe that using physiological cues and environments of the gastrointestinal tract and designing smart polymer carriers, the quest for oral drug delivery of chemotherapeutics may be achieved.