TY - JOUR T1 - Quantum Dots for Cancer Research: Current Status, Remaining Issues, and Future Perspectives JF - Cancer Biology and Medicine JO - Cancer Biol Med SP - 151 LP - 163 DO - 10.7497/j.issn.2095-3941.2012.03.001 VL - 9 IS - 3 AU - Min Fang AU - Chun-wei Peng AU - Dai-Wen Pang AU - Yan Li Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://www.cancerbiomed.org/content/9/3/151.abstract N2 - Cancer is a major threat to public health in the 21st century because it is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The mechanisms of carcinogenesis, cancer invasion, and metastasis remain unclear. Thus, the development of a novel approach for cancer detection is urgent, and real-time monitoring is crucial in revealing its underlying biological mechanisms. With the optical and chemical advantages of quantum dots (QDs), QD-based nanotechnology is helpful in constructing a biomedical imaging platform for cancer behavior study. This review mainly focuses on the application of QD-based nanotechnology in cancer cell imaging and tumor microenvironment studies both in vivo and in vitro, as well as the remaining issues and future perspectives. ER -