Self-assembled nanoplatforms for cancer immunotherapy: Principles, progress and perspectives

Cancer immunotherapy is an innovative treatment approach that leverages the immune system's ability to identify and attack tumor cells. Its goal is to initiate or re-establish the tumor–immune cycle. However, challenges such as limited response rates and adverse immune responses have hindered the further application and advancement of this therapy. Recent progress in nanomedicine, particularly in self-assembled nanomaterials, has attracted significant attention due to their excellent physical and chemical properties. Self-assembled nanoplatforms can be designed to selectively deliver immunoadjuvants, therapeutic drugs, photosensitizers, and sonosensitizers, overcoming the limitations of traditional monotherapies. By utilizing these self-assembled nanoplatforms to synergistically combine cancer immunotherapy with photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), radiotherapy (RT), and sonodynamic therapy (SDT), it becomes possible to amplify and enhance the immune responses elicited by these localized treatments, thus offering new strategies for cancer therapy. In this review, we discussed various immunotherapy platforms based on the self-assembly of nucleic acids, peptides and proteins, metals, and supramolecules. We also highlight the significant research advancements over the past three years in the use of self-assembled nanomaterials for combination therapies centered on immunotherapy, aiming to provide valuable insights and references for ongoing tumor therapy research.