Nano-Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy: Immunology Encounters Nanotechnology

Overview

Journal Cells

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2020 Sep 18

PMID 32942725

Citations 29

Authors

Ernesto Bockamp

Sebastian Rosigkeit

Dominik Siegl

Detlef Schuppan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy utilizes the immune system to fight cancer and has already moved from the laboratory to clinical application. However, and despite excellent therapeutic outcomes in some hematological and solid cancers, the regular clinical use of cancer immunotherapies reveals major limitations. These include the lack of effective immune therapy options for some cancer types, unresponsiveness to treatment by many patients, evolving therapy resistance, the inaccessible and immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME), and the risk of potentially life-threatening immune toxicities. Given the potential of nanotechnology to deliver, enhance, and fine-tune cancer immunotherapeutic agents, the combination of cancer immunotherapy with nanotechnology can overcome some of these limitations. In this review, we summarize innovative reports and novel strategies that successfully combine nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy. We also provide insight into how nanoparticular combination therapies can be used to improve therapy responsiveness, to reduce unwanted toxicity, and to overcome adverse effects of the TME.

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