OICC Press Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry 2193-8865 11 4 (December 2021) 2021 04 05 Milk protein-based nanodelivery systems for the cancer treatment 10.1007/s40097-021-00399-5 EN Nadia Tavakoli Department of Cell and Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, IR Adeleh Divsalar Department of Cell and Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, IR Thomas Haertlé Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, IR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique et Environmentale, BIA UR 1268, Nantes, FR Lindsay Sawyer Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JR, GB Ali A. Saboury Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, IR Vladimir Muronetz Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, RU Journal Article 2021 04 05 Abstract The numerous advantages that nanotechnology can bring to the design of pharmaceutical delivery systems are perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the area of cancer treatment. These nanostructures not only can improve the anti-proliferative properties of the drugs but also ameliorate the side effects by providing site-specific drug delivery. Furthermore, food-based proteins, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, provide a ready-made ingredient as a carrier for various chemotherapeutic agents. The most popular proteins in this field are milk proteins including β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), lactoferrin (LF), and the caseins (CN), all of which have desirable properties to make them ideal for this purpose. Grafting these two approaches, different milk protein-based nanodrugs have been synthesized that show promising potential in providing more targeted delivery of drugs thereby reducing the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy. In some cases, being encapsulated in these proteins (in nanoscale), the chemotherapeutic agents can be consumed orally while enhancing site-specific delivery. This article reviews various nanodrug delivery systems containing milk proteins, which are designed for cancer treatment. Moreover, their physical and their anti-proliferative characteristics are briefly described. Graphic abstract