Nanomedicine-boosting tumor immunogenicity for enhanced immunotherapy

Abstract

Immunotherapy has revolutionized oncology remarkably and gained great improvements in cancer therapy. However, tumor immunotherapy still encounters serious challenges, especially certain tumors barely respond to immunotherapy. The lack of immunogenicity and subsequent insufficient antitumor immune activation is a pivotal reason. Here, a general introduction and the strengthening strategies of immunogenicity of a tumor for enhanced immunotherapy are reviewed. Specifically, nanotechnology nowadays is playing important roles in increasing the antitumor efficacy of various treatments, including immunotherapy. This review highlights how nanomedicines integrating one or more anticancer therapeutic methods (e.g., cancer vaccines, chemotherapy, phototherapy, and radiotherapy) to increase the tumor immunogenicity for rousing T cell related immune responses and achieving inspiring antitumor efficacy. Given the sophisticated immune evasion mechanisms, rational designed nanodrugs with combinational formulations are summarized to improve therapeutic efficacy in synergistic ways. Nanoplatforms taking advantage of the distinct features of tumor tissue or tumor cell with stimuli-responsiveness and targeting functions are introduced to accelerate tumor accumulation of drugs successfully and greatly promote therapeutic efficacy with low-dose administration and programmed drug release. Finally, the related challenges and personal perspectives of nanomedicines for tumor immunotherapy are concluded.