Innovations in peptide-based targeted therapies for breast cancer: From conjugates to precision delivery

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of mortality among women worldwide, necessitating therapeutic innovations that combine precision targeting with effective delivery. Peptides have emerged as versatile tools in breast cancer-targeted therapy, functioning as tumor-targeting ligands, vaccine epitopes, and delivery enhancers across various platforms, including exosomes, nanoparticles, drug conjugates, and engineered immune cells. These multifunctional systems address limitations of conventional breast cancer therapies by leveraging the inherent specificity and adaptability of peptides to enable precise drug delivery, disrupt oncogenic signaling pathways, modulate the tumor microenvironment, and overcome therapeutic resistance. This review presents recent advances in peptide-based targeted therapies, highlighting the ongoing need to address tumor heterogeneity and resistance.