Combination of tumor fragments and nanotechnology as a therapeutic approach: Treating a tumor with tumor

[Display omitted] •A new strategy based on tumor-derived fragments (TDFs) interfered with nanotechnology has been developed for tumor therapy.•Various TDF-based ex situ/in situ vaccines can be used to elicit anti-cancer immune responses.•TDF-nanoformulations can act as versatile platforms for cancer theranostics.•The immune regulation mechanism of various TDFs is summarized.•The applications of nanotechnology-intervened TDFs as vaccines and vehicles in tumor therapy are highlighted. Cancer with high mortality is a serious threat to human health. Thus, favorable approaches for efficient elimination of tumors are urgently needed. Recently, a new antitumor strategy of tumor-derived fragments (TDFs) interfered with nanotechnology has been developed for highly specific and efficient tumor therapy. On one hand, TDF-based nanoformulations (termed as TDF-NFs) and nanoparticle-induced immunogenic dying tumor cells (IDTCs) can act as ex situ/in situ vaccines to elicit the immune responses for cancer immunotherapy. On the other hand, TDF-NFs can be drug carriers for cancer theranostics. In this review, the immune regulation mechanisms of various TDFs including tumor-derived DNA/RNA, tumor cell membranes, tumor-derived exosomes, whole tumor lysates, and IDTCs are summarized, and the applications of nanotechnology-intervened TDFs as vaccines and vehicles in tumor therapy are also highlighted. It is hoped that the review will inspire researchers to further construct functional TDF-based nanovaccines and nanocarriers, facilitating the development of novel antitumor strategies.