Hydrogel-Based Strategies to Enhance T-Cell Performance for Solid Tumor Immunotherapy

The solid tumor microenvironment presents many challenges for immunotherapy that must be addressed for clinical relevance. This review will highlight research that has attempted to tackle these challenges and summarize recent therapeutic approaches to enhance both native and engineered T cell functions through hydrogel delivery. Different types of hydrogels are presented in this paper and organized based on purpose of the research: activation and expansion, delivery methods, co-delivery of immunostimulating agents, and overcoming tumor microenvironment barriers. Perspectives in the future of solid cancer immunotherapy are also discussed to share opinion on necessary research for the success in this field.