Targeted nanomedicines remodeling immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment for enhanced cancer immunotherapy

Yanyan Xu1, Jingyuan Xiong2, Xiyang Sun3

  • 1Key Laboratory of Drug-Targeting and Drug Delivery System of the Education Ministry, Sichuan Engineering Laboratory for Plant-Sourced Drug and Sichuan Research Center for Drug Precision Industrial Technology, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.

Cancer immunotherapy has significantly flourished and revolutionized the limited conventional tumor therapies, on account of its good safety and long-term memory ability. Discouragingly, low patient response rates and potential immune-related side effects make it rather challenging to literally bring immunotherapy from bench to bedside. However, it has become evident that, although the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in facilitating tumor progression and metastasis, it also provides various potential targets for remodeling the immunosuppressive TME, which can consequently bolster the effectiveness of antitumor response and tumor suppression. Additionally, the particular characteristics of TME, in turn, can be exploited as avenues for designing diverse precise targeting nanomedicines. In general, it is of urgent necessity to deliver nanomedicines for remodeling the immunosuppressive TME, thus improving the therapeutic outcomes and clinical translation prospects of immunotherapy. Herein, we will illustrate several formation mechanisms of immunosuppressive TME. More importantly, a variety of strategies concerning remodeling immunosuppressive TME and strengthening patients' immune systems, will be reviewed. Ultimately, we will discuss the existing obstacles and future perspectives in the development of antitumor immunotherapy. Hopefully, the thriving bloom of immunotherapy will bring vibrancy to further exploration of comprehensive cancer treatment.

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