A drug delivery perspective on intratumoral-immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma

Wilson S. Meng, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Electronic address: meng@duq.edu.
Nicholas J. Salgia, Department of Medical Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA.
Ngoc B. Pham, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Ketki Y. Velankar, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Sumanta K. Pal, Department of Medical Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA. Electronic address: spal@coh.org.

Abstract

In less than 5years immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) went from first FDA approval to become first-line options in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Despite that many patients have benefited from ICI, a significant fraction of individuals are refractory to these new immunological treatments. In this review, we discussed using intratumoral (i.t.) route of drug administration as an alternative to systemic therapy to increase the response rates and to circumvent potential drug-induced systemic adverse events. We provided a historic account of i.t. drug treatments in cancer and reviewed the contemporary experience in local drug delivery. We discussed the potential for enhancing the therapeutic impact of ICI by leveraging hydrogels as drug delivery vehicles and presented an outlook for implementing i.t. in renal cell carcinoma.