Immunotherapy-based approaches for cancer treatment are of increasing clinical interest. Principles of drug delivery and the emerging field of material design for immunomodulation might hold significant promise for novel approaches in cancer immunotherapy since biomaterials engineering strategies enable controlled delivery of immune modulatory drugs and molecules to tissues and cells of the immune system. One tissue of significant clinical interest in a cancer setting is the tumor-draining lymph node (TDLN), which participates in cancer progression by enabling both metastatic dissemination as well as tumor-induced immune escape. Hence, the TDLN represents a novel target for drug delivery schemes for cancer immunotherapy. The influence of the immune microenvironment within TDLNs on tumor progression as well opportunities for material design to reverse this effect will be discussed. In particular, our efforts in targeted delivery of adjuvants to the TDLN via nanoparticles, which promotes antitumor immunity and hinders tumor growth, will be described.

Beyond chemotherapy: Building a cancer nanotherapeutic exploiting tumor immunopathophysiology

245th National Meeting (2013)

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