The proof concept continues to be supplied by Wang et al. 2008[1]. The Globe Health Company predicts that by 2030 12 million of most deaths world-wide will be because of cancer [1]. Definately not being truly a “contemporary” disease, cancers is among the oldest maladies also if it begin receiving increasingly more interest only when various other severe killer illnesses (such as for example tuberculosis, dropsy, cholera, smallpox, leprosy or pneumonia) have been eradicated. Despite an impatient and previous fight, where the worldwide non-scientific and technological committees are involved, the data of cancer’s biology as well as the breakthrough of new substances are unlikely to totally eradicate it. If brand-new substances are uncovered to take care of cancer tumor Also, the efficiency of typical chemotherapeutics is normally hampered by the next restrictions: i) medication resistance on the tumour level because of physiological obstacles (i.e.;non-cellular structured mechanisms) ii) drug resistance on the mobile level (we.e.mobile mechanisms) and iii) nonspecific distribution, biotransformation and fast clearance of anticancer medications in the physical body [2]. The procedure that drives a medication to the mark is indeed reliant on medication physico-chemical properties that affect its balance in the systemic flow, the extravasation as well as the intratumoral distribution, resulting in undesired unwanted effects [2] also. To get over these limitations, the “magic bullet” theory, which refers to a drug which goes straight to its specific target, AG-120 (Ivosidenib) was postulated at the beginning of the XXth century [3]. In the past decades the application of this concept has led to the development of a plethora of colloidal systems aimed at deliver the drug exclusively to the diseased tissues, thus reducing systemic toxicity. In particular, in the past 35 years, cutting-edge research based on multidisciplinary approaches has been led to the development of nanoscaled drug carriers for medical application [2,4]. The first paper on nanoparticles was published in 1976 by Peter Speiser, a pioneer in the concept of nanoparticles: it focused on the development of nanoparticles for vaccination purposes, aiming at a slow release profile of the antigen thus leading to a better immune response [5]. Later, Couvreur et al [6] discovered the lysosomotropic effect of nanoparticles and for the first time published that nanocapsules were able to introduce compounds into cells which do not spontaneously accumulate intracellularly. Rapidly, nanoparticles (NPs) found important application in cancer therapy due to numerous advantages that they offer over the free drugs [Table1][7-10]. Some engineered nanocarriers were been approved by the FDA (Doxil[11], Daunoxome[12], Abraxane[13], Genexol[14], Marqibo[15]). Marqibois a vincristine loaded liposomal formulation made of sphingomyelin AG-120 (Ivosidenib) and cholesterol approved in 2012 for the treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph -) acute lymphoblastic leukaemia[15]. == Table 1. == Nanocarriers advantages and properties required for clinical translation [22] Aside from therapeutic use, in recent years nanocarriers have also been employed as imaging tools which hold great promises both in preclinical research and in clinical settings[16-21]. Nanoparticles for diagnostic purposes have now been marketed AG-120 (Ivosidenib) for 10 years[4]. The encapsulation of different imaging contrast brokers (e.g., paramagnetic metal ions, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs), Near Infra-Red (NIR) probes, radionuclides) in nanocarriers makes possible to enhance the signal to noise ratio in the targeted tissue compared to the surrounding health one. The increase of imaging resolution highlights small lesions which are undetectable with traditional methods. At the moment, biodegradable polymers or lipid-based colloids are the only drug vehicles approved for clinical use. These materials offer promising possibilities to assure specific drug accumulation at the tumour site, improving the pharmacokinetic profile and safety of both drug and contrast imaging brokers[22]. The present review is focused on lipid-based nanocarriers which have classically received great attention due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility and targetability[23]. Lipid nanocarriers NBN used for AG-120 (Ivosidenib) drug delivery purposes include liposomes, micelles, nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions, solid-lipid nanoparticles and lipoproteins-containing systems. Liposomal systems attract a great deal of interest and a simple research around the PubMed database AG-120 (Ivosidenib) reveals that more than 150 review articles have been published within this field in the last year alone. Consequently, we decided to limit the present review to non-liposomal lipid-based nanocarriers. After a short description of these drug nanocarriers, their applications as multifunctional tools for therapeutic and/or diagnostic applications in cancer management are reviewed. == Non-liposomal lipid-based nanocarriers == A broad range of lipid nanocarriers is currently used for drug delivery purposes. Although.