Improving Cancer Immunotherapy Outcomes Using Biomaterials

Abstract

Immunotherapy has made great strides in improving clinical outcomes in cancer treatment. However, few patients exhibit adequate response rates for key outcome measures and desired long‐term responses, and they often suffer systemic side effects due to the dynamic nature of the immune system. This has motivated a search for alternative strategies to improve unsatisfactory immunotherapeutic outcomes. In recent years, biomaterial‐assisted immunotherapy has shown promise in cancer treatment with improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects. These biomaterials have illuminated fundamental mechanisms underlying the immunoediting process, while greatly improving the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy, cancer vaccine therapy, and immune checkpoint blockade therapy. This Minireview discusses recent advances in engineered biomaterials that address limitations associated with conventional cancer immunotherapies.

Polysaccharide-based nanocomposites for biomedical applications: a critical review

“…The main reasons behind using alginate as a matrix are it being FDA-approved, cost effective, has potential for large scale manufacturing, low immunogenicity, as well as inherent ionic behavior and hydrophilicity. 259 As an instance, one group utilized an alginate nanocomposite scaffold for the codelivery of programmed CAR T cells in conjunction with cyclic-dinucleotide (CDN), which was an effective platform for treating mild tumors. 250 Despite the advances in immunotherapy-conjugated materials and nanotechnology, a great of deal of time and energy must be expended to translate the ideas to clinic.…”

Recent advances in functionalized upconversion nanoparticles for light-activated tumor therapy

“…Consequently, UCNPs have been widely investigated in cancer immunotherapy in recent years. 114 Xiang et al were the rst to develop antigen-loaded UCNPs for DC-based immunotherapy, and the system could be used to track dendritic cells in vivo using upconversion luminescence imaging. 115 Our team has developed an UCNPs-based immunotherapy device that enables remote control of antitumor immunity with NIR light both in vitro and in vivo.…”

Cell-derived vesicles for delivery of cancer immunotherapy

“…To date, tumor targeted microorganisms have become cancer specific drug delivery vehicles or therapeutic agents, such as Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, anaerobic bacteria, and oncolytic viruses [128]. Due to the hypoxia, immunosuppression and unique biochemical microenvironment in solid tumors, these bacteria can be selectively colonized in tumor tissues [129][130][131]. It is understood that certain types of bacteria can deliver near infrared (NIR) absorbers to tumors for photothermal ablation.…”