The application of nanotechnology in cancer immunotherapy

Targeted therapy is associated with the use of drugs designed against specific molecular targets. Their mechanism of action is based on the inhibition of specific signaling pathways in processes related to the development of cancer (proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis or metastasis). One of the most important methods of treatment is immunotherapy, which uses monoclonal antibodies. Their mechanism of action is based on inducing programmed cell death by inhibiting specific signal transduction processes. However, immunotherapy has a number of limitations, including side effects that may endanger the patient’s life. To overcome those obstacles immunoconjugates were developed, which combine a monoclonal antibody, or its fragment, with a drug using a stable linker. Their mechanism of action is based on the monoclonal antibody binding to a cell membrane receptor, their internalization, the degradation of the linker, and the release of the drug attached to the antibody, which then activates specific genes or proteins or induces apoptosis. Immunoconjugates represent a promising alternative for anticancer treatment used today, but their use is associated with some obstacles. Nanotechnology helps to solve these problems with a chemotherapeutics delivery system called immunonanoparticles. It uses chemotherapeutics encapsulated in nanoparticles in combination with monoclonal antibodies displaying the ability of selective recognition and binding with molecular targets on the surface of selected cancer cells. This review focuses on presenting the most important solutions used in targeted therapy, which combine traditional immunotherapy with modern nanotechnology.