Female Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: Integrating Advances in Targeted Drug Delivery for Neglected Forms of Tuberculosis

The cyclical nature of female hormones during the menstrual cycle significantly impacts pharmacological activity. This highlights the need for personalized therapy aimed at developing drug delivery systems for women, whether for systemic or localized treatment. This chapter addresses two challenging conditions: tuberculosis of the female genital tract, which is the second most common manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and breast tuberculosis, a rare form of cutaneous tuberculosis. Both present difficulties regarding diagnosis and treatment for female patients. The aim of this work is to bridge the gap in targeted drug delivery advances for anti-tubercular treatments in order to develop tailored therapies for female patients facing under-reported and complex-to-diagnose extrapulmonary tuberculosis conditions.