Scoping review maps ultrasound nanobubble platforms for breast cancer precision therapy

A scoping review published in BMC Cancer has mapped the available evidence on ultrasound-triggered microbubble and nanobubble platforms for breast cancer, organizing findings across three areas: contrast-enhanced imaging, local drug delivery, and combination immunotherapy. The work, authored by Huifen Kong, Hongbiao Zhang, and Zihang Zeng, addresses persistent challenges in breast cancer precision therapy, where drug delivery and the prediction of treatment response remain difficult even as targeted approaches advance.

Ultrasound micro- and nanobubble platforms are of interest because they integrate diagnostic and therapeutic functions within a single system, a combination often described as theranostic. The authors note, however, that despite growing attention to these platforms, the evidence base has lacked consistency, making it difficult to assess where the technology currently stands and which applications are best supported.

To build a structured overview, the researchers followed the Arksey and O’Malley scoping review framework and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. They systematically searched three databases, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase, for literature published between January 2010 and March 2026. The search identified 2,086 records, from which 38 studies on ultrasound-triggered microbubble and nanobubble platforms were analyzed in detail.

Having mapped the evidence across imaging, local delivery, and immunotherapy, the authors propose that the optimal role of these ultrasound bubble platforms lies in immunotherapy delivery sensitization: serving as modules that may heighten the effectiveness of immunotherapy in breast cancer. This positioning is presented as the review’s conclusion from the mapped literature rather than as a demonstrated clinical outcome.

As a scoping review, the study maps and characterizes existing research rather than pooling effect estimates or testing efficacy in patients. The authors present the resulting evidence map as a consolidated picture of where ultrasound-guided bubble platforms have been studied in breast cancer, with the immunotherapy sensitization role identified as the area they judge most promising for these theranostic systems.

Subject of Research: Evidence mapping of ultrasound microbubble and nanobubble platforms for breast cancer imaging, drug delivery, and immunotherapy

Article Title: Ultrasound-guided precision therapy for breast cancer: evidence mapping of targeted nanobubble-enhanced imaging, local drug delivery, and combination immunotherapy

Article References: Kong, H., Zhang, H., & Zeng, Z. (2026). Ultrasound-guided precision therapy for breast cancer: evidence mapping of targeted nanobubble-enhanced imaging, local drug delivery, and combination immunotherapy. BMC Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-17244-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12885-026-17244-z

Keywords: breast cancer, ultrasound, nanobubbles, microbubbles, drug delivery, immunotherapy, theranostics, scoping review, evidence mapping, precision therapy, PRISMA-ScR, BMC Cancer