Nanomedicine-mediated optimization of immunotherapeutic approaches in cervical cancer

Purpose: Cervical cancer is immunologically relevant because retained high-risk HPV antigens can be recognised as foreign, making immunotherapy attractive. However, conventional immunotherapy is limited by variable efficacy, immune evasion, cytokine toxicity, and poor targeting. Nanomedicine may improve delivery, targeting, pharmacokinetics, and safety of immunotherapeutic agents.

Hypothesis: No formal experimental hypothesis. Central thesis: nanoparticle-based delivery can enhance cervical cancer immunotherapy by co-delivering immunomodulatory agents, targeting tumours, improving pharmacokinetics, and minimising collateral toxicity to healthy cells.

Aims: Review the potential of immunotherapy and nanotechnologically enhanced immunotherapeutic approaches for cervical cancer. - Highlight the intricate relationship between cervical cancer cells and the immune system. - Discuss current immunotherapeutic strategies, including checkpoint blockade, adoptive cell therapy, vaccines, neoantigen vaccines, and cytokine therapy. - Summarise clinical application of immunotherapeutic agents in cervical cancer. - Discuss the potential of nanotechnology-enhanced immunotherapy and provide future recommendations.

Delivery system: Nanomaterials discussed: silica nanoparticles coated with lipids, micelles, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), DNA nanococoon, lipid/calcium phosphate, manganese dioxide, albumin nanocomplex, shell-core hybrid nanoparticles, hyaluronic acid-coated liposomes, layered double hydroxide nanoparticles, chitosan/IL-12, poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles. - Payloads: cytokines (IL-2, IL-12, GM-CSF, IFN-α), immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, anti-CTLA-4), CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, neoantigen peptides, MUC-1 mRNA, chemotherapeutics (cisplatin, paclitaxel, doxorubicin, oxaliplatin), photosensitizers, IDO inhibitor. - Targeting/functionalization: passive enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, active targeting, PEGylation for immune evasion and prolonged circulation. - Immunotherapeutic platforms reviewed: immune checkpoint inhibitors (ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab), adoptive T-cell therapy (TILs, TCR-T, CAR-T), therapeutic vaccines (live-vectored ADXS11-001, peptide-based HPV16-SLP and pNGVL4a-CRT/E7, DC-based vaccines, neoantigen vaccines), and cytokine therapy.

Approach: Review of preclinical and clinical literature. Preclinical models include B16F10 melanoma, 4T1 breast cancer, CT26 and MC-38 colon cancer, and others used to illustrate nano-mediated immunotherapy. Clinical trials discussed in cervical cancer include KEYNOTE-158, KEYNOTE-028, PROLOG, NRG-GY002, CheckMate 358, GOG-9929, and various combination trials (phases I–III). The review also summarises combination therapies in cervical cancer (Table 2), including immunotherapy plus radiation, vaccines, chemotherapy, and PD-1/CTLA-4 combinations. Nano-mediated immunotherapy in cervical cancer itself remains largely preclinical.

Key methods: Clinical outcomes: overall survival, survival rates at 6/12/24 months, response rates, progression. - Immune profiling: CD8+ T cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, TILs, antigen-presenting cells, IFN-γ production, cytokine expression. - Tumour growth inhibition, tumour eradication, and toxicity/side effects. - Nanoparticle characterisation and delivery concepts: size <100 nm for lymphatic distribution, EPR accumulation, PEGylation for circulation. - Biomarker and neoantigen identification using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics.

Key results: Pembrolizumab showed increased activity in cervical cancer in KEYNOTE-158 and promising antitumor activity in phase Ib KEYNOTE-028. - Nivolumab in phase II NRG-GY002: minimal response rate, median survival 14.5 months, survival rates of 78% at 6 months and 56% at 12 months. Another study reported 78% survival at 12 months and 50% at 24 months. - ADXS11-001 live-vectored vaccine phase II: 38.5% increase in survival, to 6.2 months. - pNGVL4a-CRT/E7(detox) vaccine reduced cervical cancer progression by 30% in 32 women with CIN2/3. - HPV16-SLP vaccine: overall survival of 8.8 months in advanced/recurrent cervical cancer. - IL-12 nanoparticle delivery by Zaharoff et al. released cytokine by tumour-specific targeting and completely eradicated solid tumour cells. - Nano-mediated immunotherapy for cervical cancer is still in preclinical stages, though several nano-immunotherapy approaches have shown success in other cancers.

Interpretation: Anti-cervical cancer immunotherapies that generate adaptive and durable responses can yield more potent antitumor effects when combined with nanoparticles than when administered as free therapeutic drugs. The convergence of bioengineering, immunotherapy, and nanotechnology opens new avenues for cervical cancer therapy. Further studies should overcome pharmaceutical, biological, and translational barriers to enable clinical translation.

Limitations: Review article; no primary data. - Nano-mediated immunotherapy for cervical cancer is still in preclinical stages. - Clinical translation of nanotherapeutics remains low due to pharmaceutical, biological, and translational barriers. - Barriers include manufacturing, stability, biodistribution, toxicity, endosomal/lysosomal escape, intracellular uptake/trafficking, tumour penetration, and optimal drug/gene combination regimens. - Immunotherapy limitations: immune evasion, variable patient responses, cytokine side effects (metabolic disturbances, myelosuppression, serum sickness), neoantigen identification is impractical/time-consuming, CAR-T is time-consuming and expensive, live-vectored vaccines are limited in immunocompromised individuals. - Tumour heterogeneity and immune-escape variants promote resistance. - Need for personalised treatments and biomarker identification using next-generation sequencing.