Advancing up
Hey everyone, welcome back to the weekly check in. Last week, I was able gain some experience in the lab; this week, I mainly spent looking over some advancements in immunotherapy and how it might increase its longevity as a treatment.
One of these advancements includes using nanoparticles, particles around the size of 1 to 100 nanometers that contain natural or synthetic polymers, as a way to deliver the treatment to specific areas of the body and target them. Basically this allows for the researchers to target a specific cancer cell, and helps localize the cancer. By encapsulating therapeutic agents such as chemotherapy drugs, immuno-modulators, or nucleic acids inside the nanoparticles, researchers can target the delivery to tumor sites while minimizing side effects on healthy tissues in the body. This targeted approach enhances drug efficacy, reduces systemic toxicity, and has demonstrated 65% tumor growth inhibition, improving patient outcomes. (Gao et al., 2021)
Additionally, these nanoparticles can be loaded with checkpoint inhibitors or cytokines- proteins that control growth and activity of immune and blood cells- can activate the immune system, bypass immunosuppressive barriers, and generate an anti-cancer immune response. This will allow the body’s immune system to be more active in ridding the body of its cancer and can potentially facilitate early detection of cancer cells, aiding in diagnosis and disease monitoring (Shams et al., 2021). These nanoparticles serve as versatile platforms for delivering therapeutic agents, targeting immune cells, and modulating the tumor microenvironment; hence, the collaboration between nanotechnology and immunotherapy holds the promise of unlocking new horizons in targeted medicine and personalized cancer treatment.
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