Our immune system protects our body from a large number of threats.
External threats include pathogens from various sources. Internally, the cells of our
immune system continuously fight cancer cells and thereby prevent tumor
development. Immunotherapies which employ monoclonal antibodies have
significantly enriched our vision of cancer treatment. Unleashing the checkpoint
blockade of tumors mobilizes the cytotoxic T cells to eliminate cancer cells, and
therefore, amplifies the anti-tumor response of the immune system. The lymphoid
immune cells, particularly cytotoxic CD8 T cells, are the current focus of novel
interventions such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells.
Nanomedicines are predestined to target macrophages due to their high phagocytic
activity and their large numbers in different types of tumors. Specifically, nanomedical
formulations might additionally explore the potential of modulating macrophages as
key effector cell which can influence the tumor microenvironment. The therapeutic
cargo to be delivered to cells or tissues can benefit from the “Omics” sciences and use
knowledge to specifically modulate gene expression and protein generation using small
non-coding RNA. Strategies to localize drug delivery have the potential to enrich
nanomedicines for their potential ability to be concentrated in certain parts of the body.
Such applications can rely, for instance, on magnetic fields or infrared light sensitive
systems, in order to increase target specificity. Here, we put an emphasis on the
applicability of the strategies to improve target specific accumulation of theranostics
and discuss potential improvements of cancer immunotherapies.
Keywords: Cancer immunotherapy, Drug delivery, Imaging, Nanomedicine,
Theranostic.