A Narrative Review of Nanomedicine in Cancer Therapy: Modulating Metabolic Reprogramming to Enhance Immunotherapy.
- 1Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
- 2Department of Gynecology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
Metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells interacts with functional alterations of immune cells to establish an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which constrains the efficacy of immunotherapy. Nanomedicine provides technical approaches for targeted delivery and controlled release of metabolic modulators. This review outlines major nanocarriers and their design principles, dissects the crosstalk among glucose, amino acid and lipid metabolism, and illustrates how nutrient competition and metabolic byproducts shape antitumor immune responses. It focuses on summarizing advances in nanodelivery strategies targeting these metabolic pathways and their combinatorial application with immunotherapy. Nanomedicine-mediated metabolic intervention holds promise for remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment. However, tumor cells and effector T cells share partial metabolic requirements, and nonselective inhibition may impair antitumor immunity. Improving the cell selectivity of interventions and validating long-term safety and clinical benefits represent key considerations for future translational research.
Related
- 944 Succinate-based metabolic reprogramming of innate and adaptive immunity for ovarian cancer immunotherapy
- The Role of Glucose Metabolic Reprogramming in Exercise-Attenuated Osteoporosis: a Narrative Review
- Single-Cell and Multi-Omics Profiling of the Multiple Myeloma Immune Niche: From Bone Marrow Architecture and Metabolic Reprogramming to Immunotherapy Response.
- PCSK9 drives acquired resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy through cystine metabolic reprogramming in lung cancer
- Engineering clinically actionable nanomedicine for cancer immunometabolic ecosystem reprogramming
BibTeX
@article{wu2026narrative,
title = {{A Narrative Review of Nanomedicine in Cancer Therapy: Modulating Metabolic Reprogramming to Enhance Immunotherapy.}},
author = {Hongpeng Wu and Fengyi Wang and Wei Sun and Hao Zhang},
journal = {International journal of nanomedicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.2147/ijn.s650413},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953814},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Narrative Review of Nanomedicine in Cancer Therapy: Modulating Metabolic Reprogramming to Enhance Immunotherapy.
AU - Hongpeng Wu
AU - Fengyi Wang
AU - Wei Sun
AU - Hao Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - International journal of nanomedicine
DO - 10.2147/ijn.s650413
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953814
AB - Metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells interacts with functional alterations of immune cells to establish an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which constrains the efficacy of immunotherapy. Nanomedicine provides technical approaches for targeted delivery and controlled release of metabolic modulators. This review outlines major nanocarriers and their design principles, dissects the crosstalk among glucose, amino acid and lipid metabolism, and illustrates how nutrient competition and metabolic byproducts shape antitumor immune responses. It focuses on summarizing advances in nanodelivery strategies targeting these metabolic pathways and their combinatorial application with immunotherapy. Nanomedicine-mediated metabolic intervention holds promise for remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment. However, tumor cells and effector T cells share partial metabolic requirements, and nonselective inhibition may impair antitumor immunity. Improving the cell selectivity of interventions and validating long-term safety and clinical benefits represent key considerations for future translational research.
SN - 1176-9114
SN - 1178-2013
ER -