Advancements in carbon dots for targeted treatment of pancreatic cancer

Zhou Hao; Zhang Yifan; Xi Yang

doi:10.70401/acrt.2026.0043

Advancements in carbon dots for targeted treatment of pancreatic cancer

Hao Zhou

Yifan Zhang

Yang Xi

Affiliation +

*Correspondence to: Yang Xi, Ningbo Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, China. E-mail: xiyang@nbu.edu.cn

Ageing Cancer Res Treat. 2027;4:202611. 10.70401/acrt.2026.0043

Received: March 19, 2026Accepted: September 21, 2026Published: September 21, 2026

This manuscript is made available in its unedited form to allow early access to the reported findings. Further editing will be completed before final publication. As such, the content may include errors, and standard legal disclaimers are applicable.

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive and lethal malignancy with an exceptionally poor prognosis. Its clinical management is severely hampered by insidious early symptoms, strong invasiveness, intrinsic chemoresistance, and limited efficacy of conventional therapies. Carbon dots (CDs) have shown great promise in precision cancer theranostics owing to their excellent optical properties, high biocompatibility, controlled drug loading and release capabilities and customizable targeting features. This review critically examines the major therapeutic barriers in pancreatic cancer management, systematically summarizes the applications of CDs in pancreatic cancer imaging, targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia and pH-responsive theranostics, analyzes the current limitations of CD-based nanosystems, and discusses future development directions. This work aims to provide a rigorous theoretical foundation for the rational design and development of novel CD-mediated precision intervention strategies for pancreatic cancer.

Keywords

Pancreatic cancer, carbon dots, targeted drug delivery, fluorescence imaging

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Zhou H, Zhang Y, Xi Y. Advancements in carbon dots for targeted treatment of pancreatic cancer. Ageing Cancer Res Treat. 2027;4:202611. https://doi.org/10.70401/acrt.2026.0043