Nanomaterial Strategies for Pulmonary Delivery of Immunotherapeutics in Lung Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Organ‐selective immunomodulation is increasingly viewed as a route to improve the therapeutic index of cancer immunotherapy, yet most agents are still delivered systemically, where limited tumor exposure and immune‐related toxicities remain common. The lung is an attractive site for local intervention because it is directly accessible and immunologically specialized. However, effective pulmonary delivery is constrained by mucociliary clearance, airway mucus, alveolar macrophage uptake, and epithelial barriers. Nanomaterials can be rationally engineered to address these constraints, increasing pulmonary retention and concentrating immunotherapeutics within the lung tumor microenvironment while reducing systemic burden. This Review summarized the key physiological barriers for pulmonary immunotherapeutic delivery and discusses how nanomaterial properties shape deposition, retention, cellular partitioning, and downstream immune activation. We critically evaluate representative inhalable platforms across major immunotherapeutic modalities, including vaccines, immune checkpoint blockade, innate immune agonists (e.g., STING agonists), cytokine regulation, and emerging in situ immune‐cell engineering strategies. We also highlight translational considerations. Together, these advances support inhalable immunotherapeutic nanomedicines as a complementary approach to current lung cancer treatment and a broader framework for pulmonary immune modulation.