Smart drug delivery systems to overcome drug resistance in cancer immunotherapy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cancer immunotherapy faces challenges due to tumor drug resistance and immunosuppressive microenvironments.
• Tumor cells develop resistance through genetic changes and signaling pathway alterations, hindering immunotherapeutic agent effectiveness.
• Immunosuppressive cells and secreted molecules within the tumor microenvironment impede immune cell function and infiltration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of smart drug delivery systems (SDDSs) in overcoming drug resistance in cancer immunotherapy.
• To highlight recent advances in SDDSs for enhancing immunotherapy efficacy by targeting tumor resistance mechanisms.
• To discuss the potential of SDDSs in modulating the tumor microenvironment and improving cell-based therapies.

Main Methods:

• Discussion of SDDS strategies for co-delivering multiple therapeutic agents to tumor and immunosuppressive cells.
• Focus on SDDS applications in combining immunogenic cell death with immunotherapy.
• Exploration of SDDS-mediated reversal of the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment and modulation of interferon signaling pathways.

Main Results:

• SDDSs increase drug concentration at the tumor site, enhancing efficacy against resistant tumors.
• Combining immunogenic cell death with immunotherapy via SDDSs shows promise in overcoming resistance.
• SDDSs can reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and improve the efficacy of cell therapies.

Conclusions:

• SDDSs offer a promising strategy to overcome drug resistance in cancer immunotherapy.
• Further development of SDDSs is essential for rational design and novel techniques to enhance therapeutic outcomes.
• SDDSs have the potential to significantly improve response rates and efficacy in cancer immunotherapy.