Cytokine-based cancer therapy: Materials, strategies, and prospects

Cytokines play an indispensable role in regulating various biological processes and have been verified as powerful therapeutic agents in cancer treatments after decades of development. However, their short half-lives in physiological environments and side effects impede their applications. To overcome these challenges, researchers have developed various delivery or expression systems to enhance the stability and tumor targeting of cytokines for ensuring their efficacy and safety in tumor therapy. In this review, we summarize the different carriers/vectors for optimizing cytokine delivery in various cancer treatments, including liposomes, hydrogels, cells, viruses, plasmids, etc. Additionally, the specific roles cytokines play in tumor treatments, the limitations of various platforms for cytokine delivery, and the future research directions of cytokine delivery systems are also introduced from different perspectives to provide new insights into the construction of cytokine-based anticancer drugs. Overall, cytokines are potent therapeutic agents that require the development of safer and more effective carriers/vectors to improve the effectiveness of tumor treatments. This review aims to deepen the understanding of the working mechanisms of cytokines used in cancer treatment and inspire the research in cytokine delivery systems to a greater extent.