Photothermal therapy with immune-adjuvant nanoparticles together with checkpoint blockade for effective cancer immunotherapy

A therapeutic strategy that can eliminate primary tumours, inhibit metastases, and prevent tumour relapses is developed herein by combining adjuvant nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy with checkpoint-blockade immunotherapy. Indocyanine green (ICG), a photothermal agent, and imiquimod (R837), a Toll-like-receptor-7 agonist, are co-encapsulated by poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA). The formed PLGA-ICG-R837 nanoparticles composed purely by three clinically approved components can be used for near-infrared laser-triggered photothermal ablation of primary tumours, generating tumour-associated antigens, which in the presence of R837-containing nanoparticles as the adjuvant can show vaccine-like functions. In…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 51525203, 31300824, 51132006
• PA
  Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
• CI
  Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2012CB932601