Gil Chinchilla, Jesús IsaíasZapata González, Agustín GregorioMoraleda, JoseGarcía Bernal, David2025-02-132025-02-132024Gil-Chinchilla, J.I.; Zapata, A.G.; Moraleda, J.M.; García-Bernal, D. Bioengineered Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Anti-Cancer Therapy: Current Trends and Future Prospects. Biomolecules 2024, 14, 734. https://doi.org/10.3390/ biom140707342218-273X10.3390/biom14070734https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118042This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the Spanish Network of Advanced Therapies (Terav), RICORS subprogram, projects RD21/0017/0010 (to A.G.Z.) and RD21/0017/0001 (to J.M.M.), co-funded by ERDF-Next Generation EU “Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia”.Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are one of the most widely used cell types in advanced therapies due to their therapeutic potential in the regulation of tissue repair and homeostasis, and immune modulation. However, their use in cancer therapy is controversial: they can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, but also potentially promote tumour growth by supporting angiogenesis, modulation of the immune milieu and increasing cancer stem cell invasiveness. This opposite behaviour highlights the need for careful and nuanced use of MSCs in cancer treatment. To optimize their anti-cancer effects, diverse strategies have bioengineered MSCs to enhance their tumour targeting and therapeutic properties or to deliver anti-cancer drugs. In this review, we highlight the advanced uses of MSCs in cancer therapy, particularly as carriers of targeted treatments due to their natural tumour-homing capabilities. We also discuss the potential of MSC-derived extracellular vesicles to improve the efficiency of drug or molecule delivery to cancer cells. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating the therapeutic potential of these cells and setting the stage for future advances in MSC-based cancer treatment. It is critical to identify the broad and potent applications of bioengineered MSCs in solid tumour targeting and anti-cancer agent delivery to position them as effective therapeutics in the evolving field of cancer therapy.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/journal articlehttps://doi.org/10.3390/biom14070734https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/14/7/734open access576611.081.1616-006.04611.013.9Mesenchymal stem/stromal cellsCell therapyAnti-cancer therapyTargeted therapyTherapeutic vehiclesBiología celular (Biología)Oncología2407 Biología Celular3201.01 Oncología