Application of nanomaterials in cancer immunotherapy

Cancer has become one of the major public health problems all over the word. Cancer immunotherapy is the treatment that utilizing the patient's own immune system to fight cancer. Although promising outcomes of cancer immunotherapy have been achieved nowadays, it is still a challenge to develop a therapeutic pattern with low toxicities, high specificity, and long-lasting efficacy in this field. Nano-materials can be employed as vehicles to deliver antigens or immune modulating therapeutics. Nanomaterials can enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy by protecting their payload during circulation, promoting the delivery of antigen to antigen presenting cell, triggering the activation of antigen-specific T cell, and regulating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this review, we briefly summarize the application of nanomaterials in cancer immunotherapy, including nanovaccines, tumor immune environment modulation, and other application. Without a doubt, with the advances of the interdisciplinary research focused for materials science, immunology and tumor biology, cancer immunotherapy will further enhance the therapeutic benefits and reduce side effects in the future. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.