Nanoparticle technologies in precision oncology and personalized vaccine development: Challenges and advances

Nanoparticles (NPs) are changing the paradigm of precision oncology by providing means for targeted delivery, immune modulation, and personalized therapies for patients. To this end, drug delivery systems (DDS) have improved the precision in precision medicine and improved the design, delivery, and targeting of immune interventions through the use of NPs. This review aims to address the most clinically relevant NP platforms, including lipid (LNPs), polymeric (PNPs), metal-based (MNPs), ceramic (CNPs), carbon-based (CBNs), aptamer conjugated (ANPs), and quantum dots (QDs), and reviewed as potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications and their utility in oncology. Further, we will touch on next-generation systems, including hybrid NPs (HNPs), stimulus-response NPs (SRNPs), and artificial-intelligence (AI) directed NPs (AI-NPs) that are programmable and adaptive with precision-engineered capabilities for cancer vaccinations and immunotherapy. We will discuss how NPs function as a DDS and how these systems facilitate controlled antigen release, better delivery to antigen-presenting cells, and the delivery of neoantigen-based immunotherapies. The ability of NPs to support cell-based therapies, including CAR-T cells, and help overcome multi-drug resistant (MDR) is also explored. Although obstacles remain regarding the development of scalable, safe, and regulatory approved therapies, the ongoing progress in the field of nanomedicine suggests new strategies enabling the delivery of efficient personalized anticancer therapies with clinical benefits for cancer patients.