Nanoparticles for dendritic cell-based immunotherapy

Rational combination immunotherapeutic approaches for effective cancer treatment

Immunotherapy is an important mode of cancer treatment. Over the past decades, immunotherapy has improved the clinical outcome for cancer patients. However, in many cases, mutations in cancer cells, lack of selectivity, insufficiency of tumor-reactive T cells, and host immunosuppression limit the clinical benefit of immunotherapy. Combination approaches in immunotherapy may overcome these obstacles. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that combination immunotherapy is the future of cancer treatment. However, designing safe and rational combinations of immunotherapy with other treatment modalities is critical. This review will discuss the optimal immunotherapy-based combinations mainly with respect to the mechanisms of action of individual therapeutic agents that target multiple steps in evasion and progression of tumor.

New opportunities for nanoparticles in cancer immunotherapy

BACKGROUND

Recently, cancer immunotherapy has become standard for cancer treatment. Immunotherapy not only treats primary tumors, but also prevents metastasis and recurrence, representing a major advantage over conventional cancer treatments. However, existing cancer immunotherapies have limited clinical benefits because cancer antigens are often not effectively delivered to immune cells. Furthermore, unlike lymphoma, solid tumors evade anti-cancer immunity by forming an immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). One approach for overcoming these limitations of cancer immunotherapy involves nanoparticles based on biomaterials.

MAIN BODY

Here, we review in detail recent trends in the use of nanoparticles in cancer immunotherapy. First, to illustrate the unmet needs for nanoparticles in this field, we describe the mechanisms underlying cancer immunotherapy. We then explain the role of nanoparticles in the delivery of cancer antigens and adjuvants. Next, we discuss how nanoparticles can be helpful within the immune-suppressive TME. Finally, we summarize current and future uses of nanoparticles with image-guided interventional techniques in cancer immunotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Recently developed approaches for using nanoparticles in cancer immunotherapy have enormous potential for improving cancer treatment. Cancer immunotherapy based on nanoparticles is anticipated not only to overcome the limitations of existing immunotherapy, but also to generate synergistic effects via cooperation between nanoparticles and immune cells.

The Protein Corona as a Confounding Variable of Nanoparticle-Mediated Targeted Vaccine Delivery

Nanocarriers (NC) are very promising tools for cancer immunotherapy. Whereas conventional vaccines are based on the administration of an antigen and an adjuvant in an independent fashion, nanovaccines can facilitate cell-specific co-delivery of antigen and adjuvant. Furthermore, nanovaccines can be decorated on their surface with molecules that facilitate target-specific antigen delivery to certain antigen-presenting cell types or tumor cells. However, the target cell-specific uptake of nanovaccines is highly dependent on the modifications of the nanocarrier itself. One of these is the formation of a protein corona around NC after in vivo administration, which may potently affect cell-specific targeting and uptake of the NC. Understanding the formation and composition of the protein corona is, therefore, of major importance for the use of nanocarriers in vaccine approaches. This Mini Review will give a short overview of potential non-specific interactions of NC with body fluids or cell surfaces that need to be considered for the design of NC vaccines for immunotherapy of cancer.