Seite - (000381) - in Biomedical Chemistry: Current Trends and Developments

Note: AccurinsTM (BIND Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA). Abbreviations: NP, nanoparticles; PEG, poly(ethylene glycol). 3.5.4 Nanotechnology and Immunotherapy Cancer immunotherapy is a therapeutic strategy in which the body’s own defense mechanisms can become activated to fight against the abnormally fast growing cells by reinforcing the immune system. Nowadays, this method has attracted a lot of attention because of the discovery and application of different synthetic and natural immunogenic materials (Egilmez, 2012; Gajewski, 2013; King, 2008). The three most common methods for cancer immunotherapy include the application of immunoadjuvant materials for non-specific treatment, vaccination using antigens and the application of monoclonal antibodies (Chandramohan, 2013; Gedeon, 2014; Monjazeb, 2012; Nembrini, 2011). Non-specific immunotherapies can be given as a single therapy or at the same time with another treatment, such as chemo- or radiotherapy for improving the therapeutic responses. Interferons and