Mifang Li,1,* Ikram Hasan,2,* Lingyan Zhang,1 Tingting Peng,3 Bing Guo,4 Zun Wang5 

1Lab of Molecular Imaging and Medical Intelligence, Department of Radiology, Longgang Central Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518116, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Biomedical Engineering Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs/College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511436, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Science, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Carbon Materials Research and Comprehensive Application, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Shenzhen Baoan Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Jinan University, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Bing Guo, Email guobing2020@hit.edu.cn Zun Wang, Email wzttkl@163.com

Abstract: Breast cancer has a high mortality rate and is one of the most common malignancies among women. Conventional therapies such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery are not sufficiently effective and have notable drawbacks, including toxicity and damage to healthy cells, resulting in an unsatisfactory prognosis. Photothermal therapy (PTT) and combinatory therapies have emerged as a promising therapeutic paradigm for breast cancer treatment to achieve precise, minimally invasive tumor ablation with real-time imaging guidance, synergistic therapeutic effects, reduced systemic toxicity, enhanced immune activation, and improved outcomes against recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance. These approaches utilize near-infrared light to visualize tumor margins and locally generate hyperthermia to destroy cancerous tissue. The development of novel nanomaterials has significantly enhanced the efficacy of breast cancer treatments. This review explores the mechanisms, current advancements, and clinical potential of PTT and combinatory therapy in breast cancer treatment, with an emphasis on developments to a three-level progression: material innovation, targeted delivery, and multimodal synergy. Special focus is given to the rapidly advancing image-guided PTT in combination with other treatment modalities for precise and effective treatment of breast cancer. Furthermore, the review addresses the challenges and future directions in translating these technologies from preclinical models to clinical settings, including the optimization of imaging resolution and thermal efficiency, while minimizing potential side effects. We hope this perspective offers valuable insights into PTT and combinatory therapies for breast cancer and contributes to advancing their clinical translation, ultimately enhancing women’s health.

Keywords: breast cancer, conventional therapies, photothermal therapy, combinatory therapy, image-guided photothermal therapy