Injectable hydrogel-based platforms for precision lung cancer therapy: bridging biomaterials and oncology

-forming hydrogel depots that enable sustained intratumoral drug retention while minimizing systemic exposure; (ii) multifunctional hydrogels capable of co-delivering chemotherapeutics, immunomodulators, or phototherapeutic agents to synergistically remodel the tumor microenvironment; and (iii) stimuli-responsive systems that exploit tumor-specific cues (pH, enzymes, redox state) to achieve on-demand drug release and enhanced therapeutic precision. Preclinical studies consistently demonstrate improved antitumor efficacy, reduced off-target toxicity, and compatibility with radiotherapy, photothermal therapy, and immune checkpoint blockade. Despite these advances, clinical translation remains constrained by key hurdles, including scalable manufacturing, sterilization, long-term biocompatibility, and regulatory standardization. Addressing these challenges will be critical to advancing injectable hydrogels from promising experimental platforms to clinically deployable therapies for lung cancer.