Photothermal Therapy Combined with Chemotherapy and Anti-Inflammation Therapy Weakens the Immunosuppression of Cervical Cancer

Background/Objectives: A non-toxic nano-platform which can increase drug-loading rate and synergistically increase antitumor effect is very ideal. This study provides the concept that a combination of photothermal therapy with chemotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapy will be achieved by ablation of the local tumor, robust strategies for the suppression of distant tumors with enhanced antitumor therapy outcomes. Methods: In this study, the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin (DDP) and the anti-inflammatory drug Aspirin-DL-Lysine (ADL) were loaded into a hollow porous nanomaterial zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), which was then coated with polydopamine, in order to form near-infrared absorption organic nanoparticles DDP-ADL@ZIF-8@PDA with excellent photothermal conversion efficiency. The antitumor efficacy of the nanodrug was evaluated through physicochemical characterization, cell biology studies, and animal experiments. Results: Photothermal therapy (PTT) of polydopamine combined with DDP and ADL can reduce inflammation and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and enhance antitumor effect. The results showed that the combined therapy could effectively eliminate the primary tumor, shrink the distant tumor, and inhibit the metastasis of the tumor. PTT in combination with chemotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapy can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors, significantly reducing tumor immunosuppression by eliminating bone marrow-derived suppressor cells and increasing levels of cytotoxic T lymphocyte. Conclusions: This study successfully developed a DDP-ADL@ZIF-8@PDA nanomedicine for effective drug delivery, synergistic photothermal therapy, and anti-inflammatory attenuated immunotherapy to enhance treatment of human cervical cancer xenografts in mice. Overall, the combination of photothermal therapy with chemotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapy on a nano-platform has great potential for antitumor therapy applications.