Nano-enabled strategies for enhancing cancer immunotherapy: challenges, progress and perspective

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Solid tumors present significant challenges for cancer immunotherapy, including poor drug delivery, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), immune resistance, and treatment toxicity.
• Nanotechnology offers innovative solutions to overcome these barriers and enhance the efficacy of various immunotherapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of nanotechnology in improving cancer immunotherapy, focusing on immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), adoptive cell therapy (ACT), and cancer vaccines.
• To evaluate how nanoplatforms address challenges in solid tumors, such as targeted delivery, TME modulation, and immune activation.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of recent preclinical and clinical studies was performed.
• The review assessed the impact of nanoplatforms on targeted delivery, TME modulation, immune activation, and the efficacy of immunotherapies.
• Biosafety, biodistribution, scalability, and clinical translation challenges were also discussed.

Main Results:

• Nanotechnology-based platforms significantly improve cancer immunotherapy outcomes.
• Nanomedicines enhance ICB by increasing intratumoral drug accumulation and reversing TME immune suppression.
• Nanoplatforms improve T cell persistence and function in ACT and enhance antigen delivery/presentation in cancer vaccines.

Conclusions:

• Nano-immunotherapy shows promise in overcoming biological barriers and enhancing antitumor immune responses while reducing toxicity.
• Further research is essential to address challenges in long-term safety, nanoparticle design, manufacturing scalability, and regulatory hurdles for successful clinical translation.