Advances in smart mesoporous carbon nanoplatforms for photothermal–enhanced synergistic cancer therapy

Cancer immunotherapy has made tremendous clinical progress in advanced-stage malignancies. However, patients with various tumors exhibit a low response rate to immunotherapy because of a powerful immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and insufficient immunogenicity of tumors. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can not only directly kill tumor cells, but also elicit immunogenic cell death (ICD), providing antitumor immunity. Unfortunately, limitations from the inherent nature and complex TME significantly reduce the efficiency of PDT. Recently, smart nanomedicine-based strategies could subtly modulate the pharmacokinetics of therapeutic compounds and the TME to optimize both PDT and immunotherapy, resulting in an improved antitumor effect. Here, the emerging nanomedicines for PDT-driven cancer immunotherapy are reviewed, including hypoxia-reversed nanomedicines, nanosized metal-organic frameworks, and subcellular targeted nanoparticles (NPs). Moreover, we highlight the synergistic nanotherapeutics used to amplify immune responses combined with immunotherapy against tumors. Lastly, the challenges and future expectations in the field of PDT-driven cancer immunotherapy are discussed.

Recent advances in nanomedicines for photodynamic therapy (PDT)-driven cancer immunotherapy

A biodegradable "Nano-donut" for magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced chemo/photothermal/chemodynamic therapy through responsive catalysis in tumor microenvironment.

A biodegradable “Nano-donut” for magnetic resonance imaging and enhanced chemo/photothermal/chemodynamic therapy through responsive catalysis in tumor microenvironment

Advanced research has revealed the crucial role of tumor microenvironment (TME) in tumorigenesis. TME consists of a complicated network with a variety of cell types including endothelial cells, pericytes, immune cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), cancer stem cells (CSCs) as well as the extracellular matrix (ECM). The TME-constituting cells interact with the cancerous cells through plenty of signaling mechanisms and pathways in a dynamical way, participating in tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and response to therapies. Hence, TME is becoming an attractive therapeutic target in cancer treatment, exhibiting potential research interest and clinical benefits. Presently, the novel nanotechnology applied in TME regulation has made huge progress. The nanoparticles (NPs) can be designed as demand to precisely target TME components and to inhibit tumor progression through TME modulation. Moreover, nanotechnology-mediated drug delivery possesses many advantages including prolonged circulation time, enhanced bioavailability and decreased toxicity over traditional therapeutic modality. In this review, update information on TME remodeling through NPs-based targeted drug delivery strategies for anticancer therapy is summarized.

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Yibing Wang

Papers

Engineering of a dual-modal phototherapeutic nanoplatform for single NIR laser-triggered tumor therapy.