Abstract
Cancer is one of the primary causes of human deaths worldwide. Most cancer patients receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but these therapeutic regimens are usually only partially efficacious and give rise to serious side effects. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new therapeutic strategies to optimize the pattern of cancer treatment. The emergence of nanotechnology has had a profound impact on evolving tumor treatment modalities, facilitated by the development of nanodrug delivery systems that are highly tumor selective and allow for slow release of active anticancer drugs. Vehicles such as liposomes, dendrimers and polymer nanomaterials have been considered as promising carriers for tumor-specific drug delivery, reducing toxicity, and improving biocompatibility. To address the challenges in cancer therapeutics such as poor targeting of first-line chemotherapeutic drugs, easy destruction of nucleic acid drugs, and common immune-related adverse events in immunotherapy, we discuss how nanocarriers can be synergized with these treatment modalities. The future impact of nanomedicine-assisted cancer immunotherapies is also outlined.