癌细胞的淋巴结转移是各种肿瘤形式中常见的现象，对癌症治疗构成巨大挑战。这一过程对疾病的发展至关重要，通常与不良预后密切相关。超过90%的癌细胞通过淋巴结移动，使其成为癌细胞传播的重要途径。淋巴结转移显著影响癌症患者的预后，同时也影响治疗选择。针对淋巴结转移的治疗对传统的药物输送技术提出了诸多困难。在不损伤健康器官和造成意外后果的前提下，有选择地靶向淋巴结中的癌细胞仍然十分困难。此外，药物的全身输送受到淋巴管流速缓慢的阻碍。化学治疗药物的溶解度和稳定性不佳，当口服时其有效性进一步降低。此外，包围淋巴结肿瘤的细胞外基质非常广泛，这使得传统的药物输送系统很难达到癌细胞。为了克服这些障碍，纳米载体的发展成为了精确输送药物到淋巴结的方法引起了广泛关注。大多数固体肿瘤最初通过淋巴系统扩散，因此有效地给这些组织提供药物治疗至关重要。纳米载体具有多种优势，包括能够通过血脑屏障和细胞膜达到淋巴系统的能力。由于纳米载体的物理化学特性，例如较高的表面积与体积比，可以封装高剂量的药物。此外，配基、抗体、聚合物或生物分子可以附着在纳米载体表面，改变其特性，从而实现对淋巴结上皮细胞的靶向输送。利用纳米载体进行药物输送可以最大化靶向效应和相关的不良反应，同时提高药物输送到目标部位的效果。需要在这一领域进行更多的研究和开发，以优化纳米载体设计，提高靶向能力，并扩大临床应用，以改善癌症护理。© 2023. 作者。

Lymph node metastasis is a frequent occurrence in a variety of tumour forms and poses an enormous challenge to cancer treatment. This process is critical to the development of the disease and is frequently linked to a poor prognosis. Over 90% of cancerous cells move through lymph nodes, making them important entry routes for the spread of cancer cells. The prognosis of cancer patients is significantly impacted by lymph node metastases, which also affects treatment choices. Targeting lymph node metastases presents numerous difficulties for conventional medication delivery techniques. It is still very difficult to selectively target cancer cells in lymph nodes without risking injury to healthy organs and unforeseen consequences. Additionally, systemic delivery of drugs is hampered by the slow flow rate of lymphatic vessels. Chemotherapeutic medicines' poor solubility and stability further reduce their effectiveness when taken orally. Additionally, the extracellular matrix that surrounds lymph node tumours is extensive, which makes it difficult for conventional pharmaceutical delivery systems to reach cancer cells. The development of nanocarriers for precise drug delivery to LNs has attracted a lot of interest to overcome these obstacles. Most solid tumours first spread through the lymphatic system, hence effective drug administration to these tissues is essential for better therapeutic results. Nanocarriers have several benefits, including the capacity to pass through barriers like blood-brain barriers and membranes to reach the lymphatic system. High medication dosages can be enclosed thanks to the physicochemical characteristics of nanocarriers, such as their higher surface-to-volume ratio. Additionally, ligands, antibodies, polymers, or biological molecules can be attached to nanocarrier surfaces to change their properties, allowing for the targeted delivery of lymph node epithelial cells. This use of nanocarriers for drug delivery maximizes on-target effects and related adverse effects while improving the effectiveness of medication delivery to target locations. More research and development in this field is needed to optimize nanocarrier design, increase targeting capabilities, and expand clinical applications for better cancer care.© 2023. The Author(s).