Biomaterial-assisted targeted modulation of immune cells in cancer treatment

• Published in: Nature materials Vol. 17; no. 9; pp. 761 - 772
• Main Authors: Wang, Hua, Mooney, David J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.09.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/250; 631/67; 639/166; 639/301; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Immune system; Immunotherapy; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Maintenance; Materials Science; Modulation; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Review Article; Side effects; Synergistic effect; T cell receptors
• ISSN: 1476-1122; 1476-4660; 1476-4660
• DOI: 10.1038/s41563-018-0147-9

The past decade has witnessed the accelerating development of immunotherapies for cancer treatment. Immune checkpoint blockade therapies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies have demonstrated clinical efficacy against a variety of cancers. However, issues including life-threatening off-target side effects, long processing times, limited patient responses and high cost still limit the clinical utility of cancer immunotherapies. Biomaterial carriers of these therapies, though, enable one to troubleshoot the delivery issues, amplify immunomodulatory effects, integrate the synergistic effect of different molecules and, more importantly, home and manipulate immune cells in vivo. In this Review, we will analyse thus-far developed immunomaterials for targeted modulation of dendritic cells, T cells, tumour-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, B cells and natural killer cells, and summarize the promises and challenges of cell-targeted immunomodulation for cancer treatment. Immunotherapies have shown significant promise in cancer treatment. This Review discusses how a range of materials have been employed to enhance the effectiveness of these therapies by mediating their delivery and immunomodulatory activity.