As the second reason of causing death after cardiovascular disease for human being, cancer is damaging people all over the world. Fortunately, rapidly developing in the past decade, nanotechnology has become one of the most promising technologies for cancer theranostics. Recent studies have demonstrated that metal nanoparticles, especially manganese nanoparticles (Mn-NPs), exhibit amazing potential for application in multifarious oncology fields according to their characteristic fundamental

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... erties. Although global scientists have developed a variety of new Mn-NPs and have proved their preponderance in cancer diagnosis and treatment, Mn-NPs are still not approved for clinical use. In this paper, the recent research progress of Mn-NPs in the fields of cancer diagnosis and therapy is reviewed. Besides, the future prospect and challenges of Mn-NPs are discussed to explore wider applications of Mn-NPs in clinic. Here, we hope that this review will show a better overall understanding of Mn-NPs and provide guidance for their design in clinical applications for cancer.