Harnessing designed nanoparticles: Current strategies and future perspectives in cancer immunotherapy

Although cancer immunotherapy, represented by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and immune checkpoint-blockade therapies, has shown durable outcomes, the percentage of patients that respond to these approaches remains modest to date. However, encouraging recent advances suggest that nanotechnology has the potential to enhance the efficacy of such immunotherapies by improving the delivery, biodistribution, and release-kinetics of immunostimulatory small molecules and biologics in targeted tissues. A variety of synthetic nanoparticles, including polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes and inorganic nanoparticles, can be engineered according to their intended uses in cancer immunotherapy. Notably, nature-derived nanoparticles have emerged as a new class of immunotherapeutics. In this review, we describe state-of-the-art strategies for cancer immunotherapy using designed nanoparticles. We also highlight key translational challenges and opportunities in this rapidly growing field.