Organic Sonodynamic Materials for Combination Cancer Immunotherapy

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a promising non-invasive therapeutic modality to treat deep-seated tumors owing to the good tissue penetration ability and spatiotemporal controllability of ultrasound (US); however, the low sonodynamic activity and potential side effects greatly limit its clinical translation. Cancer immunotherapy that leverages the immune system to fight against cancer has great potential to synergize with SDT for the treatment of cancer with high efficiency and safety. In this review, the convergence of SDT with cancer immunotherapy to exert their merits and break through the limitations of combination cancer sono-immunotherapy are discussed. The focus is on the development and construction of organic materials with high sonodynamic activity and immunotherapeutic efficiency. These organic materials not only induce immunogenic cell death to improve tumor immunogenicity via SDT but also activate antitumor immunity via immuno-oncology drug-mediated immune pathway modulation. The combination of various immuno-oncology drugs with organic sonosensitizers is categorized and discussed along with the prospects and challenges for clinical translation. Cancer immunotherapy that leverages the immune system to fight against cancer has great potential to synergize with sonodynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer with high efficiency and safety. This review summarizes the recent progress of organic sonodynamic materials for combination cancer immunotherapy and highlights their synergistic antitumor effects originating from organic sonosensitizer-mediated SDT and immuno-oncology drug-induced immune pathway modulation.image

Automated summary

This review discusses the convergence of sonodynamic therapy (SDT) with cancer immunotherapy to overcome their limitations for clinical translation. The focus is on the development of organic materials with high sonodynamic activity and immunotherapeutic efficiency. SDT induces immunogenic cell death to improve tumor immunogenicity, and immunotherapy drugs activate antitumor immunity through immune pathway modulation.