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Recently, there has been an incredible increase in research about the abnormal growth of cells (neoplasm), focusing on the management, treatment and preventing reoccurrence. It has been understood that the natural defense system, composed of a variety of immune defensive cells, does not just limit its function in eliminating neoplastic cells, but also controls the growth and spread of tumor cells of different kinds to other parts of the body. Cancer immunotherapy, is a cancer treatment plan that educates the body’s defensive system to forestall, control, and eliminate tumor cells. The effectiveness of immunotherapy is achieved, to its highest efficacy, by the use of nanoparticles (NPs) for precise and timely delivery of immunotherapies to specific targeted neoplasms, with less or no harm to the healthy cells. Immunotherapies have been affirmed in clinical trials as a cancer regimen for various types of cancers, the side effects resulting from imprecise and non-targeted conveyance is well managed with the use of nanoparticles. Nonetheless, we will concentrate on enhancing cancer immunotherapy approaches by the use of nanoparticles for the productivity of antitumor immunity. Nanoparticles will be presented and utilized as an objective immunotherapy delivery system for high exactness and are thus a promising methodology for cancer treatment.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a potent anti-cancer drug that has limited clinical applications due to poor water solubility and low bioavailability. We designed a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether-poly(ε-caprolactone) (MPEG-PCL) micelle carrier for DHA using the self-assembly method. The DHA/MPEG-PCL nanoparticles were spherical with an average particle size of 30.28 ± 0.27 nm, and released the drug in a sustained manner in aqueous solution. The drug-loaded nanoparticles showed dose-dependent toxicity in HeLa cells by inducing cycle arrest and apoptosis. Furthermore, compared to free DHA, the DHA/MPEG-PCL nanoparticles showed higher therapeutic efficacy and lower toxicity in vivo, and significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing nude mice. In addition, the tumor tissues of the DHA/MPEG-PCL-treated mice showed a marked decline in the in situ expression of proliferation and angiogenesis markers. Taken together, the self-assembled DHA/MPEG-PCL nanoparticles are a highly promising delivery system for targeted cancer treatment.

Skin repair remains a common problem in plastic surgery. Wound dressing plays an important role in promoting local skin healing and has been widely studied. This study aimed to manufacture a composite film (CPCF) containing curcumin nanoparticles, collagen, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to effectively promote the healing of skin wounds. Sustained drug release from the composite film provides long-term protection and treatment for skin wounds. Both antibacterial property and good histocompatibility of the CPCF were examined by analyzing antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity to validate its applicability for wound management. Moreover, in vivo studies proved that the CPCF had a rapid healing rate of 98.03%±0.79% and mature epithelialization on day 15 after surgery. Obvious hair follicles and earlier re-epithelialization was also noticed in the CPCF group using H&E staining. The result of Masson’s trichrome staining confirmed that CPCF could promote the formation of collagen fibers. In summary, CPCF may be promising as a wound dressing agent in wound management owing to its rapid wound-healing effects.

Malignant ascites indicate the presence of malignant cells in the peritoneal cavity that lower patient survival and reduce quality of life. Current chemotherapy regimens suffer from the dilution of ascites and rapid metabolism limiting their therapeutic efficacy. The storage and sustained release of drugs at the tumor site represents a promising strategy to improve drug efficacy. The aim of this study was to develop injectable hyaluronic acid hydrogel containing polymeric gemcitabine nanoparticles and cisplatin for the local treatment of malignant ascites through a dual sustained drug release pattern. Cell uptake assays showed that the drug-loaded nanoparticles readily entered tumor cells. Apoptosis and cell cycle analysis showed that the hydrogel system could enhance tumor cell apoptosis and arrest more cells in the G1 phase. In vivo experiments indicated that mice treated with the drug-loaded hydrogels manifested the most significant efficacy in ascites volume, tumor nodules, body weight, abdominal circumference, and survival. The expression of Ki-67 and CD31 also significantly decreased compared with other groups, indicative of anti-tumor activity. In addition, intraperitoneal administration of the hydrogel system led to no significant damage to vital organs. These findings confirm the clinical potential of the drug-loaded hydrogel system for the treatment of malignant ascites.

Multi-drug chemotherapy has been one of the most popular strategies for the treatment of malignant tumors, and has achieved desirable therapeutic outcomes. The objective of the present study is to develop biodegradable PCEC nanoparticles (NPs) for the co-delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) and curcumin (CUR), and investigate the antitumor effect of the drug delivery system (DDS: PTX-CUR-NPs) against breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo. The prepared PTX-CUR-NPs had a small size of 27.97 ± 1.87 nm with a low polydispersity index (PDI, 0.197 ± 0.040). The results exhibited slow release of PTX and CUR from the DDS without any burst effect. Further, the PTX-CUR-NPs displayed a dose-dependent cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells with a higher apoptosis rate (64.29% ± 1.97%) as compared to that of free drugs (PTX + CUR, 34.21% ± 0.81%). The cellular uptake study revealed that the drug loaded PCEC polymeric nanoparticles were more readily uptaken by tumor cells in vitro. To evaluate the in vivo anti-tumor effect, the PTX-CUR-NPs were intravenously administered to BALB/c nude mouse xenografted with MCF-7 cells and the results exhibited significant inhibition of tumor growth with prolonged survival time and reduced side effect when compared with free drugs (PTX + CUR). Moreover, the administration of PTX-CUR-NPs treatment led to lower Ki67 expression (p 0.05), and enhanced TUNEL positivity (higher apoptosis, p 0.01) in tumor cells as compared to other treatment groups, suggesting the therapeutic efficacy of the DDS. Altogether, the present study suggests that the DDS PTX-CUR-NPs could be employed for the effective treatment of breast cancers in near future.

Post-operative recurrence and metastasis is a major challenge for breast cancer treatment. Local chemotherapy is a promising strategy that can overcome this problem. In this study, we synthesized an injectable hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) nanoparticles and epirubicin (EPB) (PPNPs/EPB@HA-Gel). PPNPs/EPB@HA-Gel steadily released the encapsulated drugs to achieve long-term inhibition of tumor recurrence and metastasis in a murine post-operative breast tumor model, which prolonged their survival without any systemic toxicity. The drug-loaded hydrogel inhibited the proliferation and migration of tumor cells in vitro, and significantly increased tumor cell apoptosis in vivo. Therefore, PPNPs/EPB@HA-Gel can be used as a local chemotherapeutic agent to prevent postoperative recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer.