Boosting Checkpoint Immunotherapy with Biomaterials

The immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has revolutionized the field of cancer treatment, while low response rates and systemic toxicity limit its clinical outcomes. With the rapid advances in nanotechnology and materials science, various types of biomaterials have been developed to maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects by increasing tumor antigenicity, reversing immunosuppressive microenviron-ment, amplifying antitumor immune response, and reducing extratumoral distribution of checkpoint inhibitors as well as enhancing their retention within target sites. In this review, we reviewed current design strategies for different types of biomaterials to augment ICB therapy effectively and then discussed present representative biomaterial-assisted immune modulation and targeted delivery of checkpoint inhibitors to boost ICB therapy. Current challenges and future development prospects for expanding the ICB with biomaterials were also summarized. We anticipate this review will be helpful for developing emerging biomaterials for ICB therapy and promoting the clinical application of ICB therapy.

Automated summary

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has made significant advancements in cancer treatment, but limited response rates and systemic toxicity hinder its clinical outcomes. Biomaterials have been developed to enhance ICB therapy by increasing tumor antigenicity, reversing immunosuppressive microenvironment, amplifying antitumor immune response, and improving targeted delivery of checkpoint inhibitors. This review discusses current design strategies for biomaterials, their applications in immune modulation and targeted delivery of checkpoint inhibitors for effective ICB therapy, as well as the challenges and future prospects in this field. It is anticipated that this review will contribute to the development of emerging biomaterials for ICB therapy and the advancement of its clinical application.