Bioactive glasses (BGs) arewell known for their successful applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Recent experimental studies have shown their potential usability in oncology, either alone or in combination with other biocompatible materials, such as biopolymers. Direct contact with BG particles has been found to cause toxicity and death in specific cancer cells (bone-derived neoplastic stromal cells) in vitro. Nanostructured BGs (NBGs) can be doped with anticancer elements, such as gallium, to enhance their toxic effects against tumor cells. However, the molecular mechanisms and intracellular targets for anticancer compositions of NBGs require further clarification. NBGs have been successfully evaluated for use in various well-established cancer treatment strategies, including cancer hyperthermia, phototherapy, and anticancer drug delivery. Existing results indicate that NBGs not only enhance cancer cell death, but can also participate in the regeneration of lost healthy tissues. However, the application of NBGs in oncology is still in its early stages, and numerous unanswered questions must be addressed. For example, the impact of the composition, biodegradation, size, and morphology of NBGs on their anticancer efficacy should be defined for each type of cancer and treatment strategy. Moreover, it should be more clearly assessed whether NBGs can shrink tumors, slow/stop cancer progression, or cure cancer completely. In this regard, the use of computational studies (in silico methods) is highly recommended to design the most effective glass formulations for cancer therapy approaches and to predict, to some extent, the relevant properties, efficacy, and outcomes.

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纳米结构生物活性玻璃：癌症治疗的鸟瞰图

生物活性玻璃（BG）因其在组织工程和再生医学中的成功应用而闻名。最近的实验研究表明它们在肿瘤学中的潜在可用性，无论是单独使用还是与其他生物相容性材料（例如生物聚合物）结合使用。体外研究发现，直接接触 BG 颗粒会导致特定癌细胞（骨源性肿瘤基质细胞）中毒和死亡。纳米结构BG（NBG）可以掺杂抗癌元素，例如镓，以增强其对肿瘤细胞的毒性作用。然而，NBGs 抗癌成分的分子机制和细胞内靶点需要进一步阐明。NBG 已被成功评估用于各种成熟的癌症治疗策略，包括癌症热疗、光疗和抗癌药物输送。现有结果表明，NBG 不仅可以增强癌细胞死亡，还可以参与失去的健康组织的再生。然而，NBGs在肿瘤学中的应用仍处于早期阶段，还有许多悬而未决的问题需要解决。例如，应针对每种类型的癌症和治疗策略来定义 NBG 的组成、生物降解、大小和形态对其抗癌功效的影响。此外，应该更清楚地评估 NBG 是否可以缩小肿瘤、减缓/阻止癌症进展或完全治愈癌症。在这方面，强烈建议使用计算研究（计算机方法）来设计用于癌症治疗方法的最有效的玻璃配方，并在某种程度上预测相关特性、功效和结果。