Lipid-coated gold nanorods for photoimmunotherapy of primary breast cancer and the prevention of metastasis

Nanomedicines hold promise for the treatment of various diseases. However, treating cancer metastasis remains highly challenging. In this study, we synthesized gold nanorods (AuNRs) containing (α-GC), an immune stimulator, for the treatment of primary cancer, metastasis, and recurrence of the cancer. Therefore, the AuNR were coated with lipid bilayers loaded with α-GC (α-LA). Upon irradiation with 808 nm light, α-LA showed a temperature increase. Intra-tumoral injection of α-LA in mice and local irradiation of the 4T1 breast cancer tumor effectively eliminated tumor growth. We found that the presence of α-GC in α-LA activated dendritic cells and T cells in the spleen, which completely blocked the development of lung metastasis. In mice injected with α-LA for primary breast cancer treatment, we observed antigen-specific T cell responses and increased cytotoxicity against 4T1 cells. We conclude that α-LA is promising for the treatment of both primary breast cancer and its metastasis. Schematic illustration of α-LA-mediated photo-immunotherapy for treatment of primary tumor and prevention of metastatic lung cancer. [Display omitted] •For PTT, AuNRs were coated with lipid film comprising α-galactosylceramide (α-LA).•α-LA with 808 nm laser irradiation eliminated orthotopic 4 T1 breast cancer by PTT.•α-LA also prevented recurrence of lung metastatic 4 T1 cancer.•Anti-metastatic effect of a-LA was mediated by cancer antigen-specific immunity.