Biomaterials for cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy has advanced significantly in recent years due to its promising clinical outcomes in a variety of cancer malignancies and holds great promise in becoming the “cure” for cancer. Cancer immunotherapy is the treatment that stimulates a person’s own immune system to recognize, target, and eliminate cancer cells. As the field progresses with emerging and novel strategies, the ability to manipulate the immune system while mitigating toxicities becomes the hurdle for clinical translation. To control for both efficacy and safety, biomaterials have been incorporated into immunotherapies to achieve tissue- and/or cell-specific immunomodulation, overcome immunosuppression, and address tumor microenvironment heterogeneity. This chapter reviews different immune-based treatment modalities and how biomaterials (such as polymer scaffolds, nanoparticles, and engineered cells) are used to improve upon these major strategies. This chapter focuses on discussing examples of biomaterials in noncellular, artificial cellular, cellular, and gene-based immunotherapies, as well as their advantages and opportunities to create future options for cancer patients.