the combination of laser therapy and metal nanoparticles in cancer treatment originated from epithelial tissues: a literature review

several methods have been employed for cancer treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. today, recent advances in medical science and development of new technologies, have led to the introduction of new methods such as hormone therapy, photodynamic therapy (pdt), treatments using nanoparticles and eventually combinations of lasers and nanoparticles. the unique features of lasers such as photo-thermal properties and the particular characteristics of nanoparticles, given their extremely small size, may provide an interesting combined therapeutic effect. the purpose of this study was to review the simultaneous application of lasers and metal nanoparticles for the treatment of cancers with epithelial origin. a comprehensive search in electronic sources including pubmed, google scholar and science direct was carried out between 2000 and 2013. among the initial 400 articles, 250 articles applied nanoparticles and lasers in combination, in which more than 50 articles covered the treatment of cancer with epithelial origin. in the future, the combination of laser and nanoparticles may be used as a new or an alternative method for cancer therapy or diagnosis. obviously, to exclude the effect of laser’s wavelength and nanoparticle’s properties more animal studies and clinical trials are required as a lack of perfect studies.