Engineered Nanoparticles for Cancer Vaccination and Immunotherapy

The immune system has evolved over time to protect the host from foreign microorganisms. Activation of the immune system is predicated on a distinction between self and nonself. Unfortunately, cancer is characterized by genetic alterations in the host's cells, leading to uncontrolled cellular proliferation and evasion of immune surveillance. Cancer immunotherapy aims to educate the host's immune system to not only recognize but also attack and kill mutated cancer cells. While immune checkpoint blockers have been proven to be effective against multiple types of advanced cancer, the overall patient response rate still remains below 30%. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve current cancer immunotherapies. In this Account, we present an overview of our recent progress on nanoparticle-based strategies for improving cancer vaccines and immunotherapies. We also present other complementary strategies to give a well-rounded snapshot of the field of combination cancer immunotherapy. The versatility and tunability of nanoparticles make them promising platforms for addressing individual challenges posed by various cancers. For example, nanoparticles can deliver cargo materials to specific cells, such as vaccines delivered to antigen-presenting cells for strong immune activation. Nanoparticles also allow for stimuli-responsive delivery of various therapeutics to cancer cells, thus forming the basis for combination cancer immunotherapy. Here, we focus on nanoparticle platforms engineered to deliver tumor antigens, whole tumor cells, and chemotherapeutic or phototherapeutic agents in a manner to effectively and safely trigger the host's immune system against tumor cells. For each work, we discuss the nanoparticle platform developed, synthesis chemistry, and in vivo applications. Nanovaccines offer a unique platform for codelivery of personalized tumor neoantigens and adjuvants and elicitation of robust immune responses against aggressive tumors. Nanovaccines either delivering whole tumor cell lysate or formed from tumor cell lysate may increase the repertoire of tumor antigens as immune targets while exploiting immunogenic cell death to prime antitumor immune responses. We also discuss how antigen- and whole tumor cell-based approaches may open the door for personalized cancer vaccination and immunotherapy. On the other hand, chemotherapy, phototherapy, and radiotherapy are more standardized cancer therapies, and nanoparticle-based approaches may promote their ability to initiate T cell activation against tumor cells and improve antitumor efficacy with minimal toxicity. Finally, building on the recent progress in nanoparticle-based cancer immunotherapy, the field should set the ultimate goal to be clinical translation and clinical efficacy. We will discuss regulatory, analytical, and manufacturing hurdles that should be addressed to expedite the clinical translation of nanomedicine-based cancer immunotherapy.